Mens Rea - Law Dictionary Search Results
Home Dictionary Name: mens reaMens rea
Mens rea, a guilty mind. See ACTUS NON FACIT REUM, NISI MENS SIT REA. Although prima facie and as a general rule there must be a mind at fault before there can be a crime, it is not an inflexible rule, and a statute may relate to such a subject-matter and may be so framed as to make an act criminal, whether there has been any intention to break the law or otherwise to do wrong or not. There is a large body of municipal law at the present day which is so conceived. Bye-laws are constantly made regulating the width of thoroughfares, the height of buildings, the thickness of walls and a variety of other matters necessary for the general welfare, health or commerce, and such bye-laws are enforced by the sanctions of penalties; the breach of them constitutes an offence and is a criminal matter.... and in such a case the substance of the enactment is that a man shall take care that the statutory direction is obeyed and that if he fails to do so he does so at his peril--WILLS, J., R. v. Tolso...
Mens rea and negligence
Mens rea and negligence, Mens rea and negligence are both fault elements, which provide a basis for the imposition of liability in criminal cases. Mens rea focuses on the mental state of the accused and requires proof of a positive state of mind such as intent, recklessness or wilful blindness. Negligence, on the other hand, measures the conduct of the accused on the basis of an objective standard, irrespective of the accused's subjective mental state, Assistant Commissioner v. Villiappa Textiles, (2003) 11 SCC 405 (436)...
mens rea
mens rea pl: men·tes re·ae [men-tēz-rē-ē, men-tās-rā-ī] [New Latin, literally, guilty mind] : a culpable mental state ;esp : one involving intent or knowledge and forming an element of a criminal offense [murder contains a mens rea element] compare actus reus ...
Actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea.
Actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea. 3 Inst. 307; Co. Litt. 247 b.--(An act does not make a man guilty, unless there be guilty intention.) This is one of the most important rules of criminal law. 'As a general rule of our law, a guilty mind is an essential ingredient of crime, and this rule ought to be borne in mind in construing all penal statutes', Broom's Leg. Max. Applied by 9 Judges to 5 in Reg. v. Tolson, (1889) 23 QBD 168, so as to acquit on trial for bigamy a woman reasonably believing her first husband (whom she had lost sight of for less than 7 years) to be dead; see the elaborate judgment of Stephen, J., pp. 184 et seq., who, however, described the maxim as most unfortunate and misleading. An intention to offend against the penal provisions of a statute constitutes mens rea (Bank of New South Wales v. Piper, 1897 AC 383).The trend of modern legislation in regard to the health or security of the public is to attach the offence to the person who possesses, at least hypothe...
Actus reus
Actus reus, means the wrongful deed that comprises the physical components of a crime and that generally must be coupled with mens rea to establish criminal liability; a forbidden act i.e. the actus reus for theft is the taking of or unlawful control over property without the owner's consent. Also termed deed of crime; overt act, Black Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 37.The phrase 'deed of crime' i.e. actus reus as so used does not indicate the crime itself but merely one of the ingredients of crime; and this ingredient may be present without any crime at all, just as hydrogen is one of the ingredients of water but may be present without water. The words 'deed of crime' are so suggesting of the crime itself, however, that perhaps the Latin phrase 'actus reus' is less likely to cause confusion. The actus reus is essential to crime but is not sufficient for this purpose without the necessary mens rea, just as mens rea is essential to crime but is sufficient without the necessary 'actus reus...
Instigate
Instigate, referred. (Penal Code, 1860, s. 107, Expl. I)Instigation is to good, urge forward, provoke, incite or encourage to do 'an act'. To satisfy the requirement of instigation though it is not necessary that actual words must be used to that effect or what constitutes instigation must necessarily and specifically be suggestive of the consequence. A word uttered in the fit of anger or emotion without intending the consequences to actually follow cannot be said to be instigation, Ramesh Kumar v. State of Chattisgarh, AIR 2001 SC 3837 (3844). (Penal Code, 1860, ss. 306 & 107); see also (2003) 12 SCC 469The word 'instigate' denotes incitement or urging to do some drastic or unadvisable action or to stimulate or incite. Presence of mens rea, therefore, is the necessary concomitant of instigation. It is common knowledge that the words uttered in a quarrel or in a spur of the moment cannot be taken to be uttered with mens rea. It is a fit of anger and emotional, Sanju v. State of Madhya ...
actus reus
actus reus [New Latin, guilty deed] : the wrongful act that makes up the physical action of a crime see also crime compare mens rea ...
animus
animus [Latin, mind, soul] : intent [discriminatory ] compare mens rea ...
intent
intent 1 : the act or fact of intending: as a : the design or purpose to commit a wrongful or criminal act called also criminal intent compare knowledge, mens rea, motive, negligence b : the purpose to commit a tortious act having consequences that the actor desires and believes or knows will occur constructive intent : intent that is inferred to exist (as from willfulness or recklessness) in relation to an act criminal intent : intent general intent : intent to perform an illegal act without the desire for further consequences or a precise result [there was a general intent to assault but not to kill] specific intent : intent to perform an illegal act with the knowledge or purpose that particular results will or may ensue [assaulted him with specific intent to kill] trans·ferred intent 1 : intent attributed to a person who intends to cause another harm when the harm is accidentally inflicted on an unintended victim 2 : a doctrine in tort and criminal law: a wrongdoer...
knowing
knowing 1 : having or reflecting knowledge [a and intelligent waiver of counsel] see also intelligent 2 : deliberate [ possession] [ endangerment] compare mens rea know·ing·ly adv ...
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