cardinal doctrine of English Law is that an Act does not of itself constitute guilt unless the mind is guilty – Actus non facit recum nisi mens sit rea. The maxim draws attention to the 2 essential elements of a crime which are: ( 1) The physical element or the _actus _reus – the so – called “condition of illegality “ (2) The mental element or the mens rea – the “condition of the mind “ The general rule is that for all crimes save for certain statutory exceptions ex. strict liability offences
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Non-Fatal Offences Criticisms Essay The majority of non-fatal offences are included in the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (OAPA) which was described by Professor JC Smith as ‘a rag bag of offences brought together from a variety of sources’. This view is widely shared throughout the legal system‚ although some argue that the law works in practise and so no reform is needed. However the law does not include the common offences of Assault and Battery‚ providing another call for reform.
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Mens rea translates to guilty mind‚ it refers to the mental element of a crime. Mens rea must be proved alongside actus reus for a defendant (D) to be guilty of an offence. This was set out in Woolmington v DPP. Specific intent crimes require proof of a higher level of mens rea (ie intention) because of the moral blameworthiness attached to such crimes‚ whereas‚ basic intent crimes require proof only of recklessness. Intention is the highest form of mens rea and has two types‚ direct and oblique
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section defining an offence or prescribing a punishment therefore‚ does not constitute an offence if it is covered by any of the ‘exceptions’ enumerated in the Chapter IV. In other words‚ a wrong doer‚ who has committed an Actus Reus with the requisite Mens rea‚ may escape from liability because he has a ‘general exception’ to offer as an answer to the prosecution. The ‘general exceptions‚ in ultimate analysis‚ limit and over ride offences and penal provisions of the code. The title “general exceptions”
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In order to establish criminal liability‚ the external elements of that offence must be established. These external elements are known as the actus reus. After this has been proved‚ the mens rea must be proved in respect of each of those guilty elements. The actus reus and mens rea must occur at the same time‚ although the interpretation of this can vary with regards to the offence. There are three categories than an offence can fall into when examining the actus reus. The first is that there was
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against the Person act 1861. Subsequently‚ the defendant appealed and the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction on the basis that the malicious nature or depravity of the defendant stealing the gas meter from the wall was not enough to fill the mens rea requirement to convict him of such a crime and that the jury had been misdirected. The judges ruled that "’maliciously’ in a statutory crime postulates foresight of consequence." and introduced a subjective test for recklessness. Cases which demonstrate
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any) that flow from that act or omission. It is essential that the defendant acted voluntarily and that he caused the injury‚ damage or harm. In other words‚ actus reus includes all the elements of the offence indicated in the definition except the mens rea (the state of mind)‚ if any. * Must be a voluntary act: Generally the accused’s conduct must be a voluntary act or omission. The accused will not be held liable for acts done in a state of automatism. Automatism resulting from self-induced
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law there lies nothing more significant doctrine of criminal liability then that of mens rea embedded as are its roots in the principles that no man shall be punished for comiting for a crime unless a guilty mind can be in puted to him. Since the turn of the last century this doctrine has been assailed is no uncertained a manner by the legislature. However‚ whether tracing the existence of notion of mens rea under statutory consideration in case of R.V. Prince‚ R.V. Tolson of presidential aspect
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Question 1(b) The Latin phrase “actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea” implies that an act does not make one guilty unless the mind is also. Thus‚ the meaning behind mens rea lies within the mental element of the defendant in a crime. H.L.A. Hart states that “what is crucial is that those whom we punish should have had‚ when they acted‚ the normal capacities‚ physical and mental‚ for doing what the law requires and abstaining form what it forbids‚ and a fair opportunity to exercise these capacities
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Mens rea Subjectivity is the recklessness and intention : the mental state of d Objectivity negligence compared to a reasonable mans actions * The mr for murder is did d have malic aforethought : did d have the intention to kill or cause GBH * Recklessness is subjective concept with an exception of criminal damage which is objective now but wasn’t before due to HOL decision in r v g because it included an objective standard of fault * motive and intention is different : Moloney
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