Principles of Criminal Liability

Question 1

What are the two element of criminal liability (how we know and prove that a criminal has broken the law)?

Answer 1

1. The actus reus- the action the defendant carried out, which must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
2. The mens rea- the guilty mind-set that the defendant had at the time the action was taken, which must also be proved; that is, that the defendant intended to commit the crime.

Question 2

What is actus reus?

If a person is to be found guilty of a criminal offence m then it must be proved that he/ she either…

Answer 2

This is about a person’s actions (including a lack of action).

1. Acted criminally in some way, e.g committed murder.
2. Omitted to do an act, and the omission brought about a criminal outcome, e.g knowing someone was going to commit a crime but doing nothing about it.
3. Caused a state of affairs to happen, e.g drink driving.
4. Failed to do an act which was required, and which brought about a criminal outcome, e.g failing to ensure a vehicle was roadworthy before offering it to hire.

Question 3

What is mens rea?

Answer 3

This is about a person’s thoughts or state of mind, and is about having guilty knowledge.

The defendants state of mind is relevant to a number of offences and to this end the legislation includes terms such as:

• ‘dishonestly’ such as for theft.
• ‘wilfully’ such as neglect for children
• ‘recklessly’ as in the offence for criminal damage
• ‘with intent’ as in burglary with intent to steal

Question 4

What is the level of intent assessed by?

Answer 4

Comparing the actions of the defendant with those of.a hypothetical ‘reasonable’ or average person under the circumstances of the alleged offence.

For more serious crimes (e.g murder) the law requires that the suspect has a specific intent or mens rea.

Question 5

What are strict liability offences?

Answer 5

Those for which only the guilty act (actus reus) needs to be proved. There no need for a mens rea for a successful conviction (or a diminished mens rea may be sufficient)

e. g paying for sexual services of a forced prostitute.
e. g sale of faulty goods

Question 6

Burden of proof

How do we prove that a person is guilty of a criminal offence? The law tells us that:

Answer 6

throughout the web of the English criminal law one golden thread is always to be seen: that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the prisoner’s guilt.

i.e not the duty of the defendant to prove his/her innocence.

Has to be beyond reasonable doubt.