Five Elements Of Crime

Question 1

What are the 5 elements of crime?

Answer 1

1. Voluntary Conduct
2. Unlawfulness
3. Mens Rea
4. Causation
5. Criminal Capacity

Question 2

1. Voluntary Conduct

Answer 2

• criminal conduct must be voluntary in the sense that is must be done with a conscious mind.
• conduct may also be established when the accused ‘neglects’ to do something which is called an ‘Omission’ thus there may be criminal liabilities in certain situations for a failure to act.

Question 3

1.1 Voluntary Conduct: Defenses

Answer 3

• Insane Automatism: A pathological mental condition which may be raised as a defense which excludes the individual from criminal capacity and voluntary conduct. EG: If X killed Y, and X had suffered from severe mental illness at the time of the offence, thus X wont be held liable.
• Sane Automatism: A non-pathological mental condition such as sleepwalking, blackouts and epilepsy.

Question 4

2. Unlawfulness

Answer 4

• The state must prove that the conduct of the accused was unlawful. This means that the act must be held up against the law.
• However, there are instances where the act may be unlawful, however they are pardoned by the law due to defenses being raised up which will exclude the element of unlawfulness.

Question 5

2.1 Unlawfulness: Private Defense

Answer 5

• a defense that excludes unlawfulness.
• does not only include self defense as it includes (a) Defense of Self, (b) Defense of Another Person and (c) Defense of Property.
• a person acts in private defense when they defend themselves against an unlawful and imminent attack.

Question 6

2.2 Unlawfulness: Statutory Use of Force

Answer 6

• Law enforcement officials are in a unique position in that they may sometimes commit an unlawful act in the process of arresting an individual.
• Section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act provides that violence may be used by the arrestor if the arrestee resists arrest or attempts to escape.
• Section 49(2) allows for the blameess killing of a suspect. The degree of violence used must be proportional with the threat faced and an arrestor may only use deadly force if it is to protect himself from an immediate threat.

Question 7

2.3 Unlawfulness: The Defense of Necessity

Answer 7

• it is a defense that excludes unlawfulness.
• you act in necessity when faced between experiencing evil and breaking the law, you choose to break the law to protect yourself.

Question 8

3. Mens Rea

Answer 8

• an act cannot be wrongful unless the mind is guilty.
• the state has to prove that the accused acted with a blameworthy state of mind at the time of the commission of the offence.
• this can be done through the two forms of ‘Mens Rea’ which are (1) Intention and (2) Negligence.
• the state only has to prove one of the forms.

Question 9

3. Mens Rea ( Intention )

Answer 9

• otherwise known as ‘Dolus’

- X is sick and tired of Y. X kills Y and acts with intention. X will be charged with murder.

Question 10

3.Mens Rea (Negligence)

Answer 10

• otherwise known as ‘Cupla’
• X reverses out of his driveway, Y the neighbors son runs into driveway. X kills Y. X was negligent and may be charged with culpable homicide.

Question 11

4. Causation

Answer 11

• otherwise known as a casual link
• in murder cases, a casual link is required between the conduct and the death of the deceased or the consequences.
• not all offences require causation to be proven.

Question 12

5. Criminal Capacity

Answer 12

• In order for the accused to be held criminally liable, he must have possessed criminal capacity at the time the offense occurred. the accussed must have known his actions are wrong.
• you only lack criminal capacity if you do not know what is right and wrong and if you could not control what you were doing.