Editing Year and a day rule (section)

=== England and Wales, Northern Ireland ===
The rule was abolished by the [[Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996]]. [[English and Welsh law]] and [[Northern Irish law]] is now substantially revised such that if a specific action can be proved to be the cause of death, it can now potentially constitute murder regardless of the intervening time.  The abolition of the rule does not relieve the [[prosecution]] of its obligation to prove the ''[[mens rea]]'' element; in cases of murder, this is the accused intended to cause either death or serious injury.

The permission of the [[Attorney General for England and Wales]] or [[Attorney General for Northern Ireland]] is required for any prosecution in which it is alleged that the death occurred more than three years after the causative act, or when the offender has previously been convicted of an offence in connection with the death.