📚 Year 10 Edexcel Law: Vocabulary & Terminology Quick-Memorisation Guide | Year 10 Edexcel 法律：词汇术语速记指南
Mastering the language of law is the first step to thinking like a lawyer. This guide breaks down the most important terms you will meet in Year 10 Edexcel Law, giving each one a clear definition, a memorable example and a simple memory hook. Whether you are wrestling with criminal law or learning how tort works, these words will become the building blocks of every answer you write. Use the tables and patterns below to lock them into long-term memory.
掌握法律语言是像律师一样思考的第一步。这份指南拆解了 Year 10 Edexcel 法律课程中最重要的术语，为每一个词都给出了清晰的定义、好记的例子和简单的记忆钩子。无论你是在和刑法较劲，还是在学习侵权法，这些词汇都将成为你撰写每一个答案的基石。利用下面的表格和规律，把它们牢牢锁进长期记忆里。
1. Actus Reus and Mens Rea | 犯罪行为与犯罪意图
Actus reus is the guilty act: the physical element of a crime. It can be an action, a failure to act (omission) or a state of affairs. Without an actus reus, there is usually no crime, because the law does not punish thoughts alone.
Actus reus（犯罪行为）是指有罪的行为，即犯罪的物理要素。它可以是一个动作、不作为（疏忽）或者一种状态。如果没有犯罪行为，通常就没有犯罪，因为法律不惩罚纯粹的思想。
ence demands its own level of mens rea. A simple memory trick is: Actus = Action, Mens = Mind, like 'mentality'.
Mens rea（犯罪意图）是指有罪的心理状态，即大多数犯罪所需的主观要素。它的范围从意图（直接或间接）到轻率，每种罪行都要求特定的犯意水平。一个简单的记忆技巧是：Actus = 行为（Action），Mens = 心理（Mind），正如 mentality 的联想。
| Term | Meaning | Memory Hook |
| Direct intent | Aim or purpose to cause a result | 'Direct' = target locked |
| Oblique intent | Result was virtually certain and D foresaw it | 'Oblique' = side-effect almost certain |
| Recklessness | Taking an unjustified risk | 'Reck' = risk-wreck |
2. Strict Liability | 严格责任
Strict liability offences require no proof of mens rea for at least one element of the actus reus. The defendant can be guilty even if they acted reasonably and with all due care. These are often regulatory crimes, such as selling contaminated food or driving without insurance, where public protection matters more than individual fault.
严格责任犯罪不要求对犯罪行为的至少一个要素证明有犯意。即使被告行为合理且尽到了所有合理注意义务，也可能被判有罪。这些通常是监管类犯罪，例如出售受污染食品或无保险驾驶，公众保护比个人过错更重要。
Think of strict liability as 'no excuse' liability. The prosecution only needs to prove the actus reus and that the action was voluntary. Use the image of a strict teacher who punishes any rule-breaking, no matter the reason.
把严格责任想象成"无借口"责任。控方只需要证明犯罪行为且该行为是自愿的。可以联想一位严格的老师，任何违规都给予惩罚，无论原因。
3. Omission | 不作为
An omission is a failure to act. In English law there is generally no duty to be a Good Samaritan. However, liability for omission arises where a duty to act exists, for example through a contract, a relationship, a voluntary assumption of care, creating a dangerous situation, or a statutory duty. The key case R v Stone and Dobinson shows how taking on care creates a duty.
不作为是指未能采取行动。在英国法律中，通常没有当好撒玛利亚人的义务。然而，当存在作为义务时，不作为就会产生责任，例如通过合同、关系、自愿承担照护、制造危险情形或法定义务。关键案例 R v Stone and Dobinson 展示了承担照护如何产生义务。
Remember: 'Omission is not a mission' unless the law says you must act. A parent failing to feed a child is an omission built on a duty of care.
记住："不作为不是一项任务"，除非法律规定你必须行动。父母不喂孩子食物，就是建立在照顾义务上的不作为。
4. Causation | 因果关系
Causation links the defendant's act to the result. It splits into factual causation (but for test) and legal causation (the defendant's act was the substantial and operating cause). If something else intervenes and breaks the chain of causation, the defendant may not be liable for the final outcome.
因果关系将被告的行为与结果联系起来。它分为事实因果关系（"若不是" 检验）和法律因果关系（被告的行为是实质性和起作用的致因）。如果有其他因素介入并打破因果链条，被告可能对最终结果不承担责任。
Factual causation: 'But for the defendant's conduct, would the result have happened?' Legal causation requires the act to be more than a trivial cause. Think of a chain: each link must not be broken by a supervening event like a third party's free, deliberate act, or an extraordinary natural event.
事实因果关系：'若不是被告的行为，结果会发生吗？' 法律因果关系要求行为不仅仅是微小的致因。想象一条链条：每一个环节都不能被接下来的事件打断，比如第三方的自由、故意行为，或异常自然事件。
5. Negligence: Duty, Breach, Damage | 过失侵权：义务、违反、损害
Negligence in tort law has three building blocks: a duty of care, a breach of that duty and damage caused by the breach. The Caparo three-part test (foreseeability, proximity, fair, just and reasonable) helps decide when a duty exists. Breach is measured against the reasonable person standard: a defendant is judged against what a reasonable person would have done in their position.
侵权法中的过失侵权有三个构成要件：注意义务、违反义务以及因违反义务造成的损害。Caparo 三阶段测试（可预见性、邻近性、公平公正合理）有助于判断何时存在义务。违反义务则用理性人标准来衡量：被告的行为要与一个理性人在其位置会做的事情进行比较。
Break it down: D-B-D = Duty, Breach, Damage. A memory sentence: 'Always Do Better, Dear' — the initials stand for the three elements (Adopt a duty, Breach it, Cause damage).
拆解开来：D-B-D = 义务、违反、损害。一个记忆句子：'永远做得更好，亲爱的'——首字母代表三个要素。
6. Remoteness of Damage and Thin Skull Rule | 损害的遥远性与薄头骨规则
Even when causation is proved, the defendant is only liable for damage that is not too remote. The test from The Wagon Mound asks whether the type of damage was reasonably foreseeable. However, the thin skull rule says you must take your victim as you find them: if the defendant causes foreseeable injury but the victim has a hidden condition that makes it worse, the defendant is liable for all the consequences.
即使证明了因果关系，被告也只对不太远的损害负责。来自 The Wagon Mound 的检验是：损害的类型是否可以合理预见。然而，薄头骨规则说，你必须接受受害者的原有状况：如果被告造成了可预见的伤害但受害者有隐性状况而加重了后果，被告仍要对全部后果负责。
Picture a skull as thin as an eggshell: if you tap it and it breaks, you pay for the whole broken egg, not just the tap. That metaphor solidifies the rule.
想象一个像蛋壳一样薄的头骨：如果你轻敲它，它破裂了，你就要为整个破碎的蛋买单，而不仅仅是那一下敲击。这个比喻巩固了规则。
7. Homicide: Murder and Voluntary Manslaughter | 杀人罪：谋杀与自愿非预谋杀人
Murder is the unlawful killing of a reasonable person under the Queen's peace with malice aforethought. Malice aforethought means intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm (GBH). It carries a mandatory life sentence. Voluntary manslaughter arises when murder is reduced due to a partial defence such as diminished responsibility or loss of control.
谋杀是在女王和平时期以恶意预谋非法杀害一个理性人的行为。恶意预谋指意图杀人或造成严重身体伤害。它将被判处强制终身监禁。自愿非预谋杀人是当谋杀因部分辩护理由如减轻责任或失控而降格。
Mnemonic: 'Murder needs Malice (M&M)'. For loss of control, recall a volcano: a sudden eruption after a build-up, not a slow boil.
记忆法：'谋杀需要恶意'。对于失控，回想一座火山：积聚后的突然爆发，而非缓慢沸腾。
8. Non-Fatal Offences: Assault, Battery, ABH, GBH | 非致命攻击：威胁、殴打、实际身体伤害、严重身体伤害
The hierarchy of non-fatal offences against the person builds by severity. Assault is causing the victim to apprehend immediate unlawful force; battery is the actual application of unlawful force. Actual bodily harm (ABH) is any hurt or injury calculated to interfere with health or comfort, and grievous bodily harm (GBH) or wounding is really serious harm.
针对人身的非致命罪行按严重程度递进。威吓（assault）是使受害者畏惧即将发生的非法暴力；殴打（battery）是实际施加非法暴力。实际身体伤害（ABH）是任何意图干扰健康或舒适的伤害或损伤，严重身体伤害（GBH）或创伤则是真正严重的伤害。
Learn the ladder: words only? Assault. Touch? Battery. Bruise? ABH. Broken limb? GBH. Use the initial ladder A-B-ABH-GBH as a quick recall.
学会这个阶梯：只有言语？威吓。触碰？殴打。瘀伤？ABH。骨折？GBH。用 A-B-ABH-GBH 这个首字母阶梯快速回忆。
9. Property Offences: Theft, Robbery, Burglary | 财产犯罪：盗窃、抢劫、入室行窃
Theft is defined under section 1 of the Theft Act 1968 as dishonestly appropriating property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it. Robbery is theft plus the use or threat of force immediately before or at the time of stealing. Burglary is entering a building as a trespasser with intent to steal, inflict GBH or do unlawful damage, or stealing/inflicting GBH once inside.
盗窃根据《1968年盗窃法》第1条定义为不诚实地将他人的财产据为己有，并且具有永久剥夺他人财产的意图。抢劫是盗窃加上在盗窃之前或之时使用或威胁使用武力。入室行窃是作为侵入者进入建筑物，意图盗窃、造成严重身体伤害或非法损毁，或进入后实施了盗窃/造成严重身体伤害。
Think of them as stepping up in danger: theft is silently taking; robbery adds force; burglary adds trespassing into a building. Each term ends with 'y' — Theft, Robbery, Burglary — easy to list.
把它们想象成危险程度的递增：盗窃是悄悄拿走；抢劫加上了武力；入室行窃加上了侵入建筑物。每个词都以 'y' 结尾——Theft, Robbery, Burglary——容易列举。
10. Defences: Insanity, Automatism, Intoxication | 抗辩：精神错乱、自动症、醉酒
Insanity is a legal defence based on the M'Naghten Rules: a defendant must prove, on balance of probabilities, that by reason of a disease of the mind they did not know the nature and quality of the act or that it was wrong. Automatism is an involuntary act caused by an external factor, such as a blow to the head, where the mind is not in control. Intoxication is rarely a defence; voluntary intoxication only reduces specific intent crimes to basic intent if it leads to lack of mens rea.
精神错乱是基于麦克纳顿规则的法律抗辩：被告必须以相对可能性的标准证明，由于精神疾病，他们不知道行为的性质和品质，或者不知道它是错误的。自动症是由外部因素（如头部受击）引起的无意识行为，此时意识不处于控制中。醉酒很少成为抗辩理由；自愿醉酒只有在导致缺乏特定意图犯罪犯意时，才能将其降至基本意图犯罪。
Key reminder: 'Insanity inside, automatism outside' mind) = insanity; external cause (e.g. drugs not taken voluntarily, a blow) = automatism.
关键提醒：'内部是精神错乱，外部是自动症'。内部原因（精神疾病）= 精神错乱；外部原因（如非自愿服用的药物、打击）= 自动症。
11. Legal System Terms: Precedent and Statutory Interpretation | 法律制度术语：判例与法定解释
The doctrine of judicial precedent means courts follow previous decisions in similar cases. Ratio decidendi ('reason for deciding') is binding; obiter dicta ('things said by the way') are persuasive only. The hierarchy of courts determines which precedents bind which courts. The Supreme Court binds all lower courts but not itself, though it normally follows its own past decisions.
司法判例原则意味着法院在类似案件中遵循先前的判决。Ratio decidendi（'判决理由'）具有约束力；obiter dicta（'附带意见'）只具有说服力。法院层级决定了哪些判例对哪些法院具有约束力。最高法院约束所有下级法院，但不约束自身，尽管它通常遵循自己以往的裁决。
nt: the literal rule, golden rule, mischief rule and purposive approach. A quick sentence: 'Legislators Gave Meaning Power' = Literal, Golden, Mischief, Purposive.
法定解释涉及法官理解议会法案所使用的一些规则：字面规则、黄金规则、填补漏洞规则和目的法。一个快速句子：'立法者给了意义力量' = 字面、黄金、填补漏洞、目的法。
12. Sentencing and Remedies: Types and Purposes | 量刑与救济：类型与目的
Sentencing in criminal law has several purposes: punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation, protection of the public and reparation. A judge can impose custodial sentences, community orders, fines or discharges. In tort law, the main remedy is damages — compensatory, to put the claimant in the position they would have been in but for the tort — and sometimes injunctions to stop a wrong.
刑法量刑有多个目的：惩罚、威慑、改造、保护公众和修复。法官可以判处监禁刑、社区令、罚款或释放。在侵权法中，主要救济方式是损害赔偿——补偿性的，将索赔人置于若无侵权行为本应处于的位置——有时还有禁令以制止不法行为。
Remember 'PR PiD' for criminal purposes: Punishment, Reduction (reduction of crime via deterrence & rehabilitation), Protection, and reparation. For tort remedies, imagine a 'time machine' — damages try to rewind the clock to before the harm.
记住刑法目的 'PR PiD'：惩罚、减少（通过威慑和改造减少犯罪）、保护和修复。对于侵权救济，想象一个"时间机器"——损害赔偿试图将时钟拨回到伤害发生之前。
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