Actus Reus Flashcards
latin maxim actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea
an act does not make a man guilty of a crime unless his mind be also guilty
(Miller, 1983)
importance of actus reus
a defendant will not be liable for a criminal offence unless the actus reus of the offence is proved
what are strictly liability offences
offences that do not require a mens rea element
elements of actus reus
conduct consequences
circumstances
conduct element of actus reus
- involve either an act of an omission to act by the defendant
- ‘doing’ offences
- the conduct is simply making a statement on oath in judicial proceedings which is known to be false
consequence element of actus reus
- involve a result which must have been caused by the conduct of the defendant
- proof of causation is required
circumstance elements of actus reus
- involve the existence of a set of circumstances or ‘state of affairs
- some offences have no conduct or consequence elements, but simply depend upon the existence of a set of circumstances
omission
failure to act
what is the general rule of omission
‘there is no duty of easy rescue’
exceptions to omission
- statutory duty
- special relationship
- voluntary assumption of responsbility
- duty to avert danger created (supervening fault)
- contractual duty/ public duty
voluntary assumption of responsibility
duty to act may be imposed on a defendant where the defendant has voluntarily assumed responsibility for another person
duty to avert danger created Miller principle
the common law imposes a duty on a defendant to act to avert a danger that he has created
factual causation
prosecution must initially establish that the defendant’s conduct was a factual cause of the result
‘but for’ test
legal causation
de minimis principle
nevus actus interveniens
thin skull rule
third party intervention
negligent medical treatment
