A society should not be judged on how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals.....

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

According to criminal jurisprudence, there must be a concurrence of both actus reus and mens rea for a crime to have been committed. The phrase derives from a quotation from Edward Coke actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea,1 which roughly translated means 'an act does not make someone a criminal unless (their) mind is guilty'.

Actus Rea+ Mens Rea=Crime

Actu Reas Actus reus is the action (or inaction, negligence and similar crimes which are omission) which, in combination with the produces criminal liability in common jurisdictions in the case of criminal sometimes called acts of mens rea ("guilty mind"), law based criminal law

External element 1. It differs from crime to crime 2. It includes guilty act or omission 3. It must be proved 4. One is not guilty of an offence simply because one believes oneself to be guiltythus there are no subjective standards. 5. Dadson Case (1850) 4 Cox CC 58?pg 108 in CriminlaLaw by MICheal Jefferson Types of crimes:

Conduct Crimes: only forbidden Conduct need be proved. Exp. Dangerous driving Perjury where Making a statement knowing or believeing it to be false is essential and no result need be proved. Result Crimes: When definition contains the concept of unlawful ness Albert v. Levin held what is otherwise crime can be no crime if lawful. Act or Ommission: Act is a positive act, a doing. Ommission is failure to perform an act Exp. Murder; as a positive act it is causing death As an omission it is failure to prevent death It is mostly failure to perform a duty (whether imposed by contract, a moral duty or a duty imposed by law) Mens Rea Literal meaning of the term; Guilty Mind Maxim; Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea Meaning: A man is responsible not for his acts in themselves but for his acts with Mens Rea(guilty mind) Foundation of the Principle Man can control his act Definition: DPP v. Majewski 1977 AC 443 Held mens rea is the state of mind stigmatized as wrongful by the criminal law which when compounded with the relevant prohibited conduct, constitutes a particular offence. Mens rea is a criminal law concept which focuses on the mental state of the accused and requires proof of a positive state of mind such as intent, recklessness, or willful blindness.

An illustration of mens rea would be the difference between hurting someone voluntarily and accidentally; in the first case, the mens rea, the intention to hurt, is present but not in the second one. Another example: if the intention to kill or to act in a way that can predictably lead to the death is not proved, one can not be found guilty of the crime of murder because the definition of this crime includes this condition (to be convicted, you need both the mens rea and the Actus reus, also known as the "psychological" and "material" elements); without the mens rea for murder, the accusation will usually turn into manslaughter, a different but similar crime that does not require the same mens rea. EXAMPLES OF MENS REA IN STATUTES Model Penal Code: A person commits murder if he (1) purposely or knowingly (2) causes the death of a human being. Common Law: (a) It shall be unlawful for a person to cause the death of a human being with malice aforethought. (b) A violation of this section is murder in the second degree. Mens rea includes concept of intention or recklessness. Meaning of Intention purpose or design with which an act is done Meaning of Motive the ultimate desire, or the gain of the intention Defiance in these two apparently similar terms In a robbery the intention may be to cause bodily injury but the motive is gain of money; robbery. Questions as to state of mind to be investigated: Mental capacity of the accused Mental disorder of accrued if any Voluntaries or freewill Particular state of mind required by the offence

Words indicating mens Rea: 1. Knowingly 2. Willfully 3. Recklessly Unintentional Acts Where there is 1. No Knowledge 2. No foresight 3. mistake 4. forgetfulness etc Acts partly intentional partly unintentional: Exp. A women marrys again in life of her husband believing him to be dead Intentional Act=marriage Unintentional act= Marriage in the life of husband. In such cases either strict liability rules apply or Negligence. Three Kinds of Wrongs Intentional or reckless wrongs Wrongs of Negligence Wrongs of strict liability

30-08-05 Defination of Crime: Paul W.Tapan an intentional act or omission in violation of criminal law, committed without defence or justification, and sanctioned by the laws as felony or misdemeneanours an act which the group regards as sufficiently menacing to its fundamental interests, to justify formal reaction to restrain the violator.( Elmer Hurburt Johnson in Crime corrctionand Society,p.11

Theory of naturalcrime Founder of this theory is Raffeale Garofalo who belongs to Italian School of criminology. Natural crimes are acts which offend the basic moral sentiments of pity and probity. Pity: Revulsion against the voluntary inflicyion of suffering on others Probity: Respect for property rights of the others. Classical school of Criminology: Established by Bentham and Beccaria.defines crime in legal terms.believes in freewill theory, in deterrence effect of punishment. The positive school was established in 19th century by Lombroso, Garofalo and ferri.It believes in the social definition of crime,believe in theory of determinism,in replacement of punishment by scientific methods,focuses attention onpersonality of the offender. Approaches to criminology: The descriptive approach The Causal approach Normative and non normative approaches.pg.17,criminology problems and perspectives.Ahmad asddiue.

CRIMINAL LAW ADMINISTRATION Criminal law is the body of law that regulates governmental sanctions as retaliation for crimes against the social order.

Criminal law in most jurisdictions both in the common and civil law tradition is divided into two fields: Criminal procedure regulates the process for addressing violations of criminal law Substantive criminal law details the definition of, and punishments for, various crimes. It is mostly provided by Penal Laws Special and Local laws

Actus Reus Actus reus is not merely an act.it may consist f a state of affairs not including an act at all. D.J Lanham (1976 crim L R 276) As a matter of analysis we can think of a crime as being made up of three ingredients, actus reus and ( a negative element) absence of a valid defence. Actus reus must be proved; even for an offence of strict liability. An Act is no more than a willed muscular movement. Mostly acts are not explained in such divided manner Exp. A crooked his finger His finger touched the Pistol The bullet came out The bullet entered Ps body Instead we say A shot P. Breaking Down an Act In Law sometimes breaking down of acts is essential into Reason for this is that not only act but mental stste of a person is also to be judged to make a complete crime. 1. The conduct-the centeral feature of crime 2. The surrounding material circumstances 3. The consequences Illustration: Sec.20 of The Sexual Offences Act 1956 provides It is an offence for a person acting without lawful authority or excuse to take an unmarried girl under the age of sixteen out of the possession of her parent or guardian against his will. Now split

The Conduct is the physical act of taking away the girl The material circumstances are 1. The absence of lawful authority or excuse 2. The girl was unmarried 3. She was in possession of her guardians The Material consequence is the removal of the girl from the possession of the parents. Intention: A result is intended when it is the actors purpose. Mens rea is a term which has no single meaning. Every crime has its own mens rea which can be ascertained only by reference to its statutory definition or the case law.