Question 1

Using your knowledge of statutory interpretation consider whether any of the following ‘sells or hires or offers for sale or hire or gives to any other person - any knife which has a blade which opens automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to the handle of the knife' and therefore commits an offence under s1(1) of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959:

(i) Jane, a youth worker, confiscates a flick knife from a member of her youth club and gives it to her supervisor.

(ii) Tony, an antique dealer, displays an old military knife with a spring opening device in his shop window with a price ticket attached to it.

(iii) Fola buys an unopened box of kitchen utensils from a car boot sale. Without examining the contents closely she donates the box to a charity shop. The box is found to contain a flick knife.

Question 2

Critically analyse the following case and say whether or not you think that the plaintiff will succeed under the tort of negligence: John was the batsman in a cricket match. He hit the ball so hard that it went over the brick wall that surrounded the cricket ground over the road outside and hit Mr Smith, who had just opened the front door of his house. Mr Smith sued the cricket club for negligence. Mr Smith had a nasty injury on his head caused by the ball. It was stated in court that the ball had been hit over the wall only three times in the last ten years.