'The Law of 'Joint Enterprise'': Graham Virgo

Cambridge Law: Public Lectures from the Faculty of Law MOVED

Professor Graham Virgo is Professor of English Private Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, and also Deputy Chair of the Faculty Board. In this video, Professor Virgo considers the current position of the law relating to defendants who are prosecuted in cases of 'common purpose'. Several different circumstances are often combined to form the confused category of 'Joint Enterprise'. Professor Virgo outlines these different circumstances, criticises the current state of the law in this field, and seeks to provide some possible reforms to clarify the situation. In April 2014, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism published the results of the first statistical analysis of 'Joint Enterprise' homicide cases. Both Professor Virgo and Dr Matthew Dyson (also of the University of Cambridge) were consulted by the BIJ as part of the investigation (see http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/press/news/2014/04/graham-virgo-and-matthew-dyson-consulted-on-joint-enterprise-report-by-bureau-of-investigative-journalism/2602) A BBC documentary broadcast on 7 July 2014 examined this area of law and specifically the case of Alex Henry, who was found guilty of stabbing Taqui Khezihi, despite him claiming to have never touched the knife. (See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b049bb31) The BBC also broadcast a drama based on 'joint enterprise' law on 6 July 2014 entitled 'Common'. (See http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p021gb62)