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FE-1 Final Examination - First Part: Criminal Law practice questions are available now; exam metadata is being verified.
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2026 Statistics
Key Facts: FE-1 Criminal Law Exam
1997 / 2001 / 2006 Acts
Core Irish Criminal Statutes
Law Society of Ireland FE-1 syllabus
3 hours
Single Written Paper (3.5 hrs online)
Law Society of Ireland
Answer 4 of 5
Essay/Problem Questions
Law Society of Ireland
50%
Pass Mark Per Subject
Law Society of Ireland
7 years
To Pass All 8 FE-1 Subjects
Law Society of Ireland
100+
Practice Questions Here
OpenExamPrep question bank
FE-1 Criminal Law is one of eight subjects in the Law Society of Ireland's FE-1, the entrance examination for solicitor training in Ireland. The paper is a single three-hour essay/problem exam (3.5 hours online) of five questions, of which candidates answer four, with a 50% pass mark. It is examined on Irish criminal statutes and case law. Core topics include the general principles of liability (actus reus, mens rea, and causation), inchoate offences and parties, and homicide. The statutory offences are central: non-fatal offences under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 and property and fraud offences under the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001. The defences include insanity and diminished responsibility under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006, self-defence, duress, and intoxication. The FE-1 is sat twice yearly (Spring and Autumn), subjects can be taken individually, and all eight must be passed within seven years.
Sample FE-1 Criminal Law Practice Questions
Try these sample questions to test your FE-1 Criminal Law exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.
1D, intending to kill V, fires a gun at V but the bullet misses entirely and V is unharmed. Under Irish law, what is the correct analysis of D's criminal liability?
A.D is liable for attempted murder because he had the intent to kill and performed a sufficiently proximate act
B.D is not liable for any offence because no harm was caused to V
C.D is liable only for the summary offence of careless discharge of a firearm
D.D is liable for murder because the mens rea for murder was present
Explanation: Attempt requires the mens rea of the substantive offence plus an act sufficiently proximate to (more than merely preparatory to) its commission. Firing a loaded gun at the victim with intent to kill clearly crosses the proximity threshold, so D is liable for attempted murder.
2Under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1964, what is the mens rea required for the offence of murder in Ireland?
A.Recklessness as to whether death or serious injury would result
B.An intention to kill or cause serious injury to some person
C.Gross negligence causing death
D.An intention to cause any harm, however slight, to the victim
Explanation: Section 4(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1964 provides that, where a person kills another unlawfully, the killing shall not be murder unless the accused intended to kill, or cause serious injury to, some person. Recklessness or negligence is insufficient for murder.
3D punches V in the face during an argument, causing V's nose to bleed and bruising to form. Which offence under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 most accurately reflects D's conduct?
A.Assault simpliciter under section 2
B.Causing serious harm under section 4
C.Assault causing harm under section 3
D.Coercion under section 9
Explanation: Section 3 of the 1997 Act criminalises assault causing harm, where 'harm' means harm to body or mind and includes pain and unconsciousness. A bleeding nose and bruising constitute harm beyond a mere assault simpliciter under section 2.
4How is 'serious harm' defined for the purposes of section 4 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997?
A.Any injury requiring hospital treatment of any kind
B.Harm to the body or mind, including pain and unconsciousness
C.Any injury causing the victim to be absent from work for more than three days
D.Injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious disfigurement or substantial loss or impairment of mobility or of the function of any bodily member or organ
Explanation: Section 1 of the 1997 Act defines 'serious harm' as injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious disfigurement or substantial loss or impairment of the mobility of the body as a whole or of the function of any particular bodily member or organ.
5D dishonestly takes V's bicycle from outside a shop, intending to keep it permanently. Which provision of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 does this most directly engage?
A.Section 12 (burglary)
B.Section 14 (robbery)
C.Section 4 (theft)
D.Section 17 (handling stolen property)
Explanation: Section 4 of the 2001 Act defines theft: a person is guilty of theft if he or she dishonestly appropriates property without the consent of its owner and with the intention of depriving its owner of it. Taking the bicycle to keep it permanently satisfies all elements.
6Which test for the actus reus of attempt is applied in Irish law to determine whether the accused has gone beyond mere preparation?
A.The last act test, requiring the accused to have done everything within his power
B.The equivocality test, asking whether the act unequivocally pointed to the crime alone
C.The substantial step test imported from the US Model Penal Code
D.The proximity test, asking whether the act was sufficiently proximate to (more than merely preparatory to) the completed offence
Explanation: Irish courts apply a proximity test: the accused must have done an act that is sufficiently proximate to, and more than merely preparatory to, the commission of the substantive offence. The act need not be the final act the accused could perform.
7In The People (DPP) v Murray [1977] IR 360, the Supreme Court considered the mens rea of recklessness in the context of capital murder. What did the Court hold regarding the standard of recklessness as to consequences?
A.Recklessness as to consequences is to be assessed subjectively, requiring actual advertence by the accused to the risk
B.Recklessness is to be assessed by a purely objective standard of the reasonable person
C.Recklessness is irrelevant to murder because only intention will suffice
D.Recklessness must be proved to the civil standard of the balance of probabilities
Explanation: In The People (DPP) v Murray, the Supreme Court held that the test for recklessness as to consequences is subjective: the accused must actually have adverted to the risk and consciously taken it. This established subjective recklessness as the Irish standard.
8D, charged with murder, raises the partial defence of diminished responsibility under section 6 of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006. Who bears the burden of proof and to what standard?
A.The prosecution, beyond reasonable doubt
B.The defence, on the balance of probabilities
C.The prosecution, on the balance of probabilities
D.The defence, beyond reasonable doubt
Explanation: Section 6(2) of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 provides that it is for the defence to establish diminished responsibility. The accused bears the burden of persuasion on the balance of probabilities; success reduces murder to manslaughter.
9D enters a dwelling house through an unlocked window as a trespasser, intending to steal jewellery inside. Before he can take anything he is disturbed and flees. Which offence under the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 has D committed?
A.No offence, because nothing was actually stolen
B.Theft under section 4
C.Robbery under section 14
D.Burglary under section 12
Explanation: Under section 12 of the 2001 Act, a person is guilty of burglary if he enters a building or part of a building as a trespasser with intent to commit an arrestable offence (such as theft). The offence is complete on entry with that intent, even if nothing is taken.
10D and E agree to rob a bank together and take concrete preparatory steps. Before any robbery occurs, they are arrested. Even though no robbery took place, which inchoate offence are D and E most clearly liable for by virtue of their agreement?
A.Conspiracy
B.Incitement
C.Attempt
D.Aiding and abetting
Explanation: Conspiracy is committed when two or more persons agree to pursue an unlawful purpose. The agreement itself is the actus reus, so the offence is complete on agreement even if the substantive crime is never attempted or carried out.
About the FE-1 Criminal Law Practice Questions
Verified exam format metadata for FE-1 Final Examination - First Part: Criminal Law is pending. The practice questions above remain available while official exam length, timing, passing score, fee, and administrator details are reviewed.