Question

Question: list and explain the different potential parties to a crime. What is vicarious liability, and why is it important?

Answer 1

Answer:

Different categories of potential parties to a crime are-

1. A principal in first degree - the person who has actually committed the crime.

2. A principal in second degree - the person who was present at the crime scene and assisted the principal in first degree to commit the crime.

3. Before the fact accessory - the person who was not present at the time or at the scene of a crime but assisted the first-degree principal in preparing for it.

4. After the fact accessory - the person who helped the party to crime after its commission by assisting them to provide comfort and means to escape the conviction.

Vicarious liability refers to the liability of the person who actually didn't do any harm but has control or has a superior relationship with a person who did the harm.

The importance of this type of liability is on the doctrine that superior is responsible for the acts of their subordinates as they have the right, can or the ability to control the actions of the subordinates. In the context of a crime, the person who has not committed the crime but has an interest in the objective of the crime if left unconvicted, there is always a possibility that in the future he/she might commit a crime in order to achieve the objective