Ratio Decidendi
Dishonesty in theft and fraud involves a two-stage test: (1) was what was done dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people? (2) Did the defendant realise that ordinary decent people would regard what he did as dishonest?
حقائق
Ghosh, a consultant surgeon, falsely claimed fees for operations carried out by others or under the NHS. He was charged with offences of deception. The question arose as to the correct direction on dishonesty.
فیصلے کا خلاصہ
Lord Lane CJ held that dishonesty required a two-stage test combining objective and subjective elements. First, was the conduct dishonest by the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest people? If so, did the defendant realise that ordinary honest people would regard the conduct as dishonest?
اہم اقتباسات
"In determining whether the prosecution has proved that the defendant was acting dishonestly, a jury must first of all decide whether according to the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest people what was done was dishonest."
— Lord Lane CJ
بعد کا علاج
The Supreme Court in Ivey v Genting Casinos [2017] held the second (subjective) limb of the Ghosh test was wrong. Dishonesty is now assessed purely objectively by the standards of ordinary decent people, applied to the defendant's actual knowledge of the facts.