Jeremy Bamber Forum
JEREMY BAMBER CASE => Jeremy Bamber Case Discussion => Topic started by: JackieD on December 13, 2021, 03:19:PM
-
The Forfeiture Rule - can a person who is convicted of killing another benefit from their crime?
8 JUNE 2020
Home Insights Blogs Dispute Resolution Law Blog The Forfeiture Rule - can a person who is convicted of killing another benefit from their crime?
Most people would agree that if a person is convicted of unlawfully killing another person, it would be wrong for them to be allowed to benefit from their crime. For example, if a husband kills his wife and is the main beneficiary of his wife’s valuable life insurance policy, or is the main beneficiary of her estate under a will she has made, it would generally be unpalatable for the husband to be allowed to benefit from the policy or the estate. This principle is upheld in law by what is known as ‘the forfeiture rule’.
The forfeiture rule is defined at section 1 of the Forfeiture Act 1982 as “the rule of public policy which in certain circumstances precludes a person who has unlawfully killed another from acquiring a benefit in consequence of the killing”. It is this rule that prevents a person who is convicted of killing another from inheriting any of the deceased’s estate. The public policy reasons for this rule are obvious; it cannot be right that a person who kills another should be allowed to benefit from their victim’s estate as a result of their crime.
However, the court does have the power under section 2 of the Forfeiture Act 1982 to modify or exclude the effect of the forfeiture rule if it is satisfied that the justice of the case requires it (though this does not apply to cases where a person has been convicted of murder). A claim to modify the forfeiture rule must be brought within 3 months of the date of conviction. The court does not have the discretion to extend that time period.
Cases involving the forfeiture rule are relatively uncommon, but the court has been asked to modify the effects of the forfeiture rule in two recent cases decided in April and May 2020, demonstrating how the court can use its power to modify the rule in cases where the application of the rule would otherwise be manifestly unjust: