Page "Assault" Paragraph 44

English law provides for two offences of assault: common assault and battery.

Assault ( or common assault ) is committed if one intentionally or recklessly causes another person to apprehend immediate and unlawful personal violence.

Violence in this context means any unlawful touching, though there is some debate over whether the touching must also be hostile.

Confusingly, the terms " assault " and " common assault " often encompass the separate offence of battery, even in statutory settings such as s 40 ( 3 )( a ) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.