Homicide means unlawful killing of a human being and Murder is a kind of homicide. Murder is a common law offence and thus it is not codified in any particular legislation but court decisions relating to the offence of murder are found in various cases. Consequently, it is not possible to find a single definition of murder. However, we find a classic definition of murder by Coke which states that a person can be held guilty of murder only if he possesses a sound memory and of the age of discretion. In other words, a person, who is insane or below the age of ten years cannot be charged for the offence of murder. The Offences against the Person Act 1861 and the British Nationality Act 1948 provides that if the offence of murder is committed by a British citizen abroad, the English Court has the jurisdiction to try such offence. The jurisdiction of the English Court is no longer restricted to "any county of the realm". Crimes committed in a British ship or aircraft are also triable in a British court irrespective of the fact whether a British have committed it or not. However, crimes committed in a foreign ship outside the territorial waters are not triable in a British Court. According to Coke, a person cannot be held to be a victim of murder or homicide unless he is a ‘reasonable creature’ and thus an offence would not constitute ‘murder’ if it is committed upon a person who is ‘brain dead’. Murder is also defined as an unlawful killing of another human being under the Queen’s peace with malice aforethought. Previously, in order to constitute murder, the victim had to die within a year and a day of the defendant’s criminal conduct. This law was abolished by the Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act, 1996.
