Actus Reus v. Men Rea

Question 1

Differentiate between actus reus v. mens rea.

Answer 1

Actus reus pertains to the external or overt acts or omissions included in a crime’s definition while mens rea refers to the accused’s guilty state of mind or criminal intent accompanying the actus reus.

Question 2

For crimes mala in se, how are the actus reus and mens rea distinguished?

Answer 2

For crimes mala in se, there must be a concurrence of both actus reus and mens rea to constitute the crime.

Question 3

For crimes mala prohibita, how are the actus reus and mens rea distinguished?

Answer 3

For crimes mala prohibita, since existence of criminal intent is immaterial, mens rea need not be proven. Only the actus reus is essential.

Question 4

What is the formula or the relation of actus reus and mens rea?

Answer 4

Corpus delicti = actus reus + mens rea