Actus reus and mens rea
Discuss actus reus and mens rea as components in the commission of a crime
INTRODUCTION
Actus reus and mens rea are the foundations of criminal law. A fundamental principle of Criminal Law is that a crime always consists of both a mental and a physical element. If a person knows the fact that his act is a criminal activity under the law, it comes under the mental element which is mens rea and the act itself is the physical element which is actus rea. Mens rea means to have a “guilty mind” and actus reus means “guilty act”. There are different kinds of crimes being committed daily but the basis of all of these crimes are mens rea and actus reus. An injury which is made without the mens rea is not a crime but may be an innocent act. An act does not make a man guilty of a crime unless his mind is also guilty
GENERAL PRINCIPLE
This principle is based on the fact that alone actus reus and mens rea cannot create liability because actus rea is “guilty act” and mens rea is “guilty mind”, so there should be the existence of both actus reus and mens rea to make offender liable
For example, A for two months is carrying mens rea for killing B. One day A was driving a car fast. The car of A hits a person. But A does not know at that time it was B because his back was towards A. Here this is actus reus but not mens rea. Though A has been carrying mens rea for B since two months but when A car hits B such as at the time of occurrence there was no mens rea but only actus reus, so A will not be liable for murder but will be liable for killing recklessness
MEANING OF ACTUS REUS
The word actus reus is a Latin phrase which means to have a” guilt act”
DEFINITION OF ACTUS REUS
Actus reus is the Latin term which is used to describe a physical activity that harms another. To establish liability the lawyers will have to prove that the criminal was responsible for the act
MEANING OF MENS REA
The word mens rea is a Latin phrase which means “guilty mind”
DEFINITION OF MENS REA
Mens rea is the Latin term which is used to describe the mental intention of the criminal for the commission of the unlawful act. To establish liability the lawyers will have to prove the mental intention of the criminal behind the unlawful act
FORMS OF MENS REA
Following are the forms of mens rea. Details are as under. Following all forms makes liable offenders punishable under the Pakistan Penal Code.
Intention
The intention is an essential element in committing an offence. Because the offender knows that due to his commission of a certain act, a specific result will occur. That’s why, severe punishments have been attached to crimes which are committed intentionally because offender knows that a specific result will occur
Recklessness
Recklessness is an essential element to committing an offence. Because the offender knows the subsequent risks which will occur after the commission of a certain act but the offender knowingly ignores them and takes the risks. That’s why severe punishments have been attached to the crimes
Negligence
Negligence is an essential element in committing an offence. Negligence means when someone fails to give enough care for doing something that he was responsible for, is called negligence, if the offender was aware of the risk and decided to take it, he was reckless if he was unaware of the risk but he must be aware of it, he was negligent, under the Pakistan penal code reckless man will liable and the negligent will not be liable.
Strict liability
Strict liability is an essential element to make an offender liable. Strict liability is the case where mens rea is not required. Offenders will be held responsible for the criminal offense at the same time when they committed that illegal act. They are not severe offenses and do have no severe punishments
FORMS OF ACTUS REUS
Following are the forms of actus reus. The actus reus in criminal law consists of all elements of a crime other than the state of mind of the offender
Conduct
The conduct is a major element of any actus reus. Such conduct can consist of some acts. If the Conduct is a voluntary act, in this case, severe punishments have been attached to the crimes which have been committed voluntarily because the offender knows that a specific result will occur
If an offender conducts an act under strong pressure or involuntary for example he is being threatened that he will be killed if he does not commit a certain act, in this case, he will not be liable for the crime
Omission
The omission is also an element of any actus reus. The omission is a failure to do something; according to this, a person can be liable for a crime when he does not perform his duty positively as decided.
For example, a person who has been hired on a beach to save the life of people and he is under duty but if before him a four-foot-tall child drowns in five foot deep pool, and he is not saving him from drowning, he is committing the crime by omission, and under the law, he will be considered criminal
Result
The result is also an element of any actus reus because it is related to the result of the act or omission of the offender. It is possible that the conduct may not be criminal but the result of the conduct can be criminal,
For example, it is not a crime to throw a stone, but if it hits a person or breaks a window in this situation it would be considered a criminal act and the offender will be liable for punishment under the law
COINCIDENCE OF ACTUS REUS AND MENS REA
Generally, to make a person liable for his wrongful act, the following two things must be proved.
Actus reus + Mens rea = Criminal liability
It means that criminal liability only can be imposed upon a person where a combination of actus reus and mens rea exists, no liability can be imposed if any of them is missed at the time of occurrence. They must be in combination at the time of occurrence
EXCEPTIONS TO GENERAL RULE
Generally, it is true that criminal liability can only be imposed upon a person for his wrongful act with the presence of actus reus and mens rea. But in some cases, a person can be held liable for his wrongful act in the presence of either of the element
Without actus reus
In the case of conspiracy (Sazish) against the state, there is no actus reus but only mens rea, in this case, the person would be held liable for a criminal act. There is no need to prove actus reus in this case
Without mens rea
There is no mens rea but only actus reus, in this case, the person would be held liable for criminal acts such as violation of traffic rules etc.
CONCLUSION
There are two main elements of crime such as actus reus and mens rea. The prosecution is required to prove actus reus and mens rea and the presence of the two at the time of occurrence. Once it has been proved, the person would be held liable for this wrongful act and will be punished under the provision of laws. To impose liability upon a person there should be the presence of physical involvement as well as mental intention to commit a crime