Mark Pawlowski considers the court’s power to relieve an unlawful killer from forfeiture of the victim’s estate
The common law rule of public policy, which prevents a person who has unlawfully killed another from profiting from that death, is intended to act as a disincentive to criminal activity and to reflect public conscience. At the same time, the Forfeiture Act 1982 (FoA 1982) is intended to militate against the strict application of this rule by giving the court power to grant relief to people found guilty of unlawful killing, other than murder, from forfeiture of their inheritance and other similar rights.
The forfeiture rule
One of the leading authorities is Cleaver v Mutual Rescue Fund Life Association [1892] 1 QB 147, in which a husband took out an insurance policy on his life with the defendant for £2,000 in favour of his wife. He subsequently died from poison that had been intentionally administered by his wife who was later convicted of his wilful murder. Applying the forfeiture rule, the Court of Appeal held that
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