A. v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT OF 23 SEPTEMBER 1998 4 10. The stepfather was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and tried in February 1994. It was not disputed by the defence that the stepfather had caned the boy on a number of occasions, but it was argued that this had been necessary and reasonable since A. was a difficult boy who did not respond to parental or school discipline. In summing up, the judge advised the jury on the law as follows: “... What is it the prosecution must prove? If a man deliberately and unjustifiably hits another and causes some bodily injury, bruising or swelling will do, he is guilty of actual bodily harm. What does ‘unjustifiably’ mean in the context of this case? It is a perfectly good defence that the alleged assault was merely the correcting of a child by its parent, in this case the stepfather, provided that the correction be moderate in the manner, the instrument and the quantity of it. Or, put another way, reasonable. It is not for the defendant to prove it was lawful correction. It is for the prosecution to prove it was not. This case is not about whether you should punish a very difficult boy. It is about whether what was done here was reasonable or not and you must judge that...” 11. The jury found by a majority verdict that the applicant’s stepfather was not guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. II. RELEVANT DOMESTIC LAW A. Criminal sanctions against the assault of children 12. The applicant’s stepfather was charged with “assault occasioning actual bodily harm” contrary to section 47 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, as amended. An “assault”, for the purposes of this section, includes an act by which a person intentionally or recklessly inflicts personal violence upon another. “Actual bodily harm” includes any hurt or injury calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of the victim; the hurt or injury need not be permanent but must be more than transitory or trifling. The maximum penalty on conviction is five years’ imprisonment. 13. In addition, it is an offence under section 1(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 to assault or ill-treat a child in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or injury to health. The maximum penalty on conviction is ten years’ imprisonment.