Criminal law
Part of the common law series
Criminal elements
Actus reus · Causation · Concurrence
Mens rea · Intention · Recklessness
Criminal negligence · Ignorantia juris…
Strict, Corporate & Vicarious liability
Crimes against people
Assault · Battery · Robbery
Sexual offences · Pimping · Rape
Kidnapping · Manslaughter · Murder
Crimes against property
Property damage · Arson
Theft · Burglary · Deception
Crimes against justice
Obstruction of justice · Bribery
Perjury · Malfeasance in office
Inchoate offenses
Attempt
Conspiracy · Accessory
Criminal defenses
Automatism, Intoxication & Mistake
Insanity · Diminished responsibility
Duress · Necessity
Provocation · Self defence
Other areas of the common law
Contract law · Tort law · Property law
Wills and trusts · Evidence
Portals: Law · Criminal justice

The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential for unique and often severe impositions as punishment for failure to comply. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive Actus reus, sometimes called the external element or the objective element of a crime is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which when proved Causation is the "causal relationship between conduct and result In Western Jurisprudence, concurrence, (or contemporaneity or simultaneity) is the apparent need to prove the simultaneous occurrence In Criminal law, mens rea the Latin term for "guilty mind" is usually one of the necessary elements of a Crime. In the Criminal law, intention is one of the three general classes of Mens rea necessary to constitute a conventional as opposed to In the Criminal law, recklessness (also called unchariness) is one of the four possible classes of mental state constituting Mens rea (the In the Criminal law, criminal negligence is one of the three general classes of Mens rea ( Latin for "guilty mind" element required Ignorantia juris non excusat or Ignorantia legis neminem excusat ( Latin for " Ignorance of the Law does not excuse" In Criminal law, strict liability is liability for which Mens rea ( Latin for "guilty mind" does not have to be proven in relation In the Criminal law, corporate liability determines the extent to which a Corporation as a fictitious person can be liable for the acts and omissions The legal principle of vicarious liability applies to hold one person liable for the actions of another when engaged in some form of joint or collective activity In Criminal law, an offence against the person usually refers to a crime which is committed by direct physical harm or force being applied to another person Assault is a Crime of Violence against another person. In some Jurisdictions including Australia and New Zealand, Battery is a term used by the Common law jurisdictions which involves an Injury or other Contact upon the Person of another in a manner likely Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. A pimp (also called fleshmonger) finds and manages clients for Prostitutes and engages them in Prostitution (in Brothels in most cases and Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person In Criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or Asportation of a person against the person's will usually to hold the person in False imprisonment Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being in a manner considered by law as less culpable than Murder. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries Property damage (or in the United Kingdom, criminal damage) is damage to or the destruction of public or private Property, caused either by a In Criminal law, theft (also known as stealing or filching) is the illegal taking of another person's Property without that person's freely-given In English law, the main deception offences are defined in the Theft Act 1968 (TA68 the Theft Act 1978 and the Theft (Amendment Act 1996 The crime of obstruction of justice includes crimes committed by Judges Prosecutors attorneys general, and elected officials in general Bribery, a form of pecuniary corruption is an act usually implying money or gift given that alters the behaviour of the recipient in ways not consistent with the duties of that person Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under Oath or Affirmation in a Malfeasance in office, or official misconduct, is the commission of an Unlawful act done in an official capacity which affects the performance of official duties Attempt crimes are crimes where the defendant's actions have the form of the actual enaction of the crime itself the actions must go beyond mere preparation In the Criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between Natural persons to break the law at some time in the future and in some cases with at least one overt act An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a Crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal For a more detailed discussion of individual topics see Automatism (case law In the Criminal Law, automatism is a defense to liability Intoxication is the state of being affected by one or more psychoactive drugs. A mistake of fact may sometimes offer exculpation (as in Excuse) by allowing a criminal Defendant some relief from liability for having broken the In Criminal trials the insanity defenses are possible defenses by Excuse, an Affirmative defense by which Defendants argue that In Criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by Excuse by which Defendants argue that For English law on the criminal defence see Duress in English law. In Criminal law, necessity may be either a possible justification or an exculpation for breaking the Law. Also see Provocation in English law. In Criminal law, provocation is a possible defense by excuse or exculpation The right of self-defense (also called alter ego defense, defense of others, defense of a third person) is the right for civilians acting on their A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law Tort law is the name given to a body of law that creates and provides remedies for civil wrongs that do not arise out of Contractual duties Property law is the area of Law that governs the various forms of Ownership in Real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions In Common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the Testator) regulates the rights of others over his or her Property The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of Law which governs the management of personal affairs and the Disposition of Property of The Law of evidence governs the use of Testimony (eg oral or written statements such as an Affidavit) and exhibits (e In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority Criminal punishment, depending on the offense and jurisdiction, may include execution, loss of liberty, government supervision (parole or probation), or fines. Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant or aversive on a person or animal usually in response to disobedient or morally wrong behavior In law an offence is a violation of the Penal law. An offence can range from a simple Misdemeanor (e In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. Liberty, the freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system Probation is the suspension of all or part of a jail sentence the Criminal who is "on probation" has been convicted of a crime but instead of serving jail FINE was created in 1998 and is an informal association of the four main Fair Trade networks F Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International There are some archetypal crimes, like murder, but the acts that are forbidden are not wholly consistent between different criminal codes, and even within a particular code lines may be blurred as civil infractions may give rise also to criminal consequences. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries Criminal law typically is enforced by the government, unlike the civil law, which may be enforced by private parties. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. Civil law, as opposed to Criminal law, refers to that branch of Law dealing with disputes between Individuals and/or Organizations, in which

Criminal law history

The first civilizations generally did not distinguish between civil and criminal law. The first written codes of law were produced by the Sumerians. Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar Around 2100-2050 BC Ur-Nammu, the Neo-Sumerian king of Ur, enacted the oldest written legal code whose text has been discovered: the Code of Ur-Nammu^[1] although an earlier code of Urukagina of Lagash is also known to have existed. Ur-Nammu (or Ur-Namma, Ur-Engur, Ur-Gur, ca 2112-2095 BC Middle chronology) founded the Sumerian 3rd dynasty of Ur The Third Dynasty of Ur refers simultaneously to a 21st to 20th century BC ( Short chronology) Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur ( Sumerian:urim; Akkadian: ?) is modern Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq, and was a city in ancient Sumer. The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known tablet containing a Law code surviving today Urukagina (reigned ca 2380 BC &ndash 2360 BC, Short chronology) alternately rendered as Uruinimgina or Irikagina, was a ruler Lagash ( is modern Tell al-Hiba, Iraq. Located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk Another important early code was the Code Hammurabi, which formed the core of Babylonian law. The Code of Hammurabi ( Codex Hammurabi) is the best-preserved ancient Law code, created ca Archaeological material for the study of Babylonian law is singularly extensive These early legal codes did not separate penal and civil laws.

A depiction of a 1600s criminal trial, for a suspected ghost.

The similarly significant Commentaries of Gaius on the Twelve Tables also conflated the civil and criminal aspects, treating theft or furtum as a tort. The Law of the Twelve Tables ( Lex Duodecim Tabularum, more informally simply Duodecim Tabulae) was the ancient Legislation that stood at the foundation Tort law is the name given to a body of law that creates and provides remedies for civil wrongs that do not arise out of Contractual duties Assault and violent robbery were analogized to trespass as to property. Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. Trespass (Fr trespas a crime properly a stepping across from Lat Breach of such laws created an obligation of law or vinculum juris discharged by payment of monetary compensation or damages. In Law, damages refers to the money paid or awarded to a Claimant (England Pursuer (Scotland or Plaintiff (US following a successful

The first signs of the modern distinction between crimes and civil matters emerged during the Norman Invasion of England. William I of England ( 1027 His reign which brought Norman culture to England had an enormous impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages ^[2] The special notion of criminal penalty, at least concerning Europe, arose in Spanish Late Scolasticism (see Alfonso de Castro), when the theological notion of God's penalty (poena aeterna) that was inflicted solely for a guilty mind, became transfused into canon law first and, finally, to secular criminal law. Alfonso de Castro (1495 Zamora, Spain &ndash February 11, 1558, Brussels, Belgium) known also as Alphonsus ^[3] The development of the state dispensing justice in a court clearly emerged in the eighteenth century when European countries began maintaining police services. A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. JUSTICE is a Human rights and law reform organisation based in the United Kingdom. From this point, criminal law had formalized the mechanisms for enforcement, which allowed for its development as a discernible entity.

Criminal sanctions

Criminal law is distinctive for the uniquely serious potential consequences of failure to abide by its rules. Every crime is composed of criminal elements. An element of a crime (collectively called elements of crime) is a basic set of Common law principles regarding Criminal liability that with few exceptions Capital punishment may be imposed in some jurisdictions for the most serious crimes. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. Physical or corporal punishment may be imposed such as whipping or caning, although these punishments are prohibited in much of the world. Corporal punishment is the deliberate infliction of pain intended to Punish a person or change his/her behavior Flagellation is the act of whipping (Latin flagellum, "whip" the human body Caning is a Physical punishment (see that article for generalities and alternatives consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts" with Individuals may be incarcerated in prison or jail in a variety of conditions depending on the jurisdiction. A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of Jail, or gaol (especially in Canada, Australia and NZ[http //www Confinement may be solitary. Length of incarceration may vary from a day to life. Government supervision may be imposed, including house arrest, and convicts may be required to conform to particularized guidelines as part of a parole or probation regimen. In Justice and Law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or electronic monitoring) is a measure by which Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system Probation is the suspension of all or part of a jail sentence the Criminal who is "on probation" has been convicted of a crime but instead of serving jail Fines also may be imposed, seizing money or property from a person convicted of a crime. FINE was created in 1998 and is an informal association of the four main Fair Trade networks F Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International

Five objectives are widely accepted for enforcement of the criminal law by punishments: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and restitution. Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant or aversive on a person or animal usually in response to disobedient or morally wrong behavior Retributive justice is a Theory of Justice that considers that proportionate punishment is a morally acceptable response to Crime, with This article refers to deterrent theories of punishment For other uses see Deterrence (disambiguation. Rehabilitation means To restore to useful life as through therapy and education or To restore to good condition operation or capacity. The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery It is to be contrasted with the law of compensation, which is the law of loss-based recovery Jurisdictions differ on the value to be placed on each.

• Retribution - Criminals ought to suffer in some way. Retributive justice is a Theory of Justice that considers that proportionate punishment is a morally acceptable response to Crime, with This is the most widely seen goal. Criminals have taken improper advantage, or inflicted unfair detriment, upon others and consequently, the criminal law will put criminals at some unpleasant disadvantage to "balance the scales. " This belief has some connection with utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall Utility, that is its contribution to happiness People submit to the law to receive the right not to be murdered and if people contravene these laws, they surrender the rights granted to them by the law. Thus, one who murders may be murdered himself. A related theory includes the idea of "righting the balance. "
• Deterrence - Individual deterrence is aimed toward the specific offender. This article refers to deterrent theories of punishment For other uses see Deterrence (disambiguation. The aim is to impose a sufficient penalty to discourage the offender from criminal behavior. General deterrence aims at society at large. By imposing a penalty on those who commit offenses, other individuals are discouraged from committing those offenses.
• Incapacitation - Designed simply to keep criminals away from society so that the public is protected from their misconduct. This is often achieved through prison sentences today. A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of The death penalty or banishment have served the same purpose. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. Exile means to be away from one's home (ie city state or country while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened by prison or death upon return
• Rehabilitation - Aims at transforming an offender into a valuable member of society. Its primary goal is to prevent further offending by convincing the offender that her conduct was wrong.
• Restitution - This is a victim-oriented theory of punishment. The law of restitution is the law of gains-based recovery It is to be contrasted with the law of compensation, which is the law of loss-based recovery The goal is to repair, through state authority, any hurt inflicted on the victim by the offender. For example, one who embezzles will be required to repay the amount improperly acquired. Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets usually financial in nature by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted Restitution is commonly combined with other main goals of criminal justice and is closely related to concepts in the civil law. Civil law, as opposed to Criminal law, refers to that branch of Law dealing with disputes between Individuals and/or Organizations, in which

Criminal law jurisdictions

International law

Main articles: International criminal law, Crimes against humanity, and United States and the International Criminal Court

International Criminal Court in The Hague

Public international law deals extensively and increasingly with criminal conduct, that is heinous and ghastly enough to affect entire societies and regions. International criminal law is an autonomous branch of Law which deals with International crimes and the courts and tribunals set up to adjudicate cases in which persons In Public international law, a crime against humanity is an act of Persecution or any large scale atrocities against a body of people and is the highest level of Positions in the United States concerning the International Criminal Court (ICC vary widely The International Criminal Court ( ICC or ICCt) was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for Genocide, crimes against Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of States and Intergovernmental organizations. The formative source of modern international criminal law was the Nuremberg trials following the Second World War in which the leaders of Nazism were prosecuted for their part in genocide and atrocities across Europe. The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group In 1998 an International criminal court was established in the Hague under what is known as the Rome Statute. The International Criminal Court ( ICC or ICCt) was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for Genocide, crimes against The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (often referred to as the International Criminal Court Statute or the Rome Statute) is the Treaty This is specifically to try heads and members of governments who have taken part in crimes against humanity. In Public international law, a crime against humanity is an act of Persecution or any large scale atrocities against a body of people and is the highest level of Not all countries have agreed to take part, including Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Israel and the United States. Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Positions in the United States concerning the International Criminal Court (ICC vary widely

United States

Main article: Criminal procedure

In the United States, criminal prosecutions typically are initiated by complaint issued by a judge or by indictment issued by a grand jury. Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated Criminal law. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In general use a complaint is an expression of displeasure such as poor service at a store or from a Local government, etc In the Common law legal system an indictment (ɪnˈdaɪtmənt (in-DITE-mint is a formal accusation of having committed a criminal offense As to felonies in Federal court, the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires indictment. In Common law legal systems a felony is a serious Crime, often contrasted with a Misdemeanor. The Fifth Amendment ( Amendment V) of the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, is related to legal procedure In the Common law legal system an indictment (ɪnˈdaɪtmənt (in-DITE-mint is a formal accusation of having committed a criminal offense The Federal requirement does not apply to the states, which have a diversity of practices. Three states (Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Washington) and the District of Columbia do not use grand jury indictments at all. The Sixth Amendment guarantees a criminal defendant the right to a speedy and public trial, in both state and Federal courts, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime was committed, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of Counsel for his defense. Speedy trial refers to one of the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution to defendants in criminal proceedings Public trial or open trial is a trial open to public as opposed to the Secret trial. The interests of the state are represented by a prosecuting attorney. The defendant may defend himself pro se, and may act as his own attorney, if desired.

In most U. S. law schools, the basic course in criminal law is based upon the Model Penal Code and examination of Anglo-American common law. The Model Penal Code (MPC is a statutory text which was developed by the American Law Institute (ALI in 1962 Crimes in the U. S. which are outlawed nearly universally, such as murder and rape are occasionally referred to as malum in se, while other crimes reflecting society's social attitudes and morality, such as drug prohibition and alcohol laws are referred to as malum prohibitum. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person Malum in se (plural mala in se) is a Latin phrase meaning wrong or evil in itself. The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary Legislation or Religious law is a common means of attempting to control Drug use and the This list of alcohol laws of the United States by state provides an overview of alcohol-related laws by state throughout the United States. Malum prohibitum (plural mala prohibita, literal translation "wrong or because prohibited" is a Latin phrase used in Law to

England

Main article: English criminal law

The Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey

Criminal law in England derives from a number of diverse sources. English criminal law refers to the body of Law in England and Wales which deals with Crimes and their consequences The Central Criminal Court in England, commonly known as the Old Bailey, is a court The definitions of the different acts that constitute criminal offenses can be found in the common law (murder, manslaughter, conspiracy to defraud) as well as in thousands of independent and disparate statutes and more recently from supranational legal regimes such as the EU. As the law lacks the criminal codes that have been instituted in the United States and civil law jurisdictions, there is no unifying thread to how crimes are defined, although there have been calls from the Law Commission for the situation to be remedied. Civil law or Romano-Germanic law or Continental law is the predominant system of law in the world. Criminal trials are administered hierarchically, from magistrates' courts, through the Crown Courts and up to the High Court. For the TV programme see Crown Court (TV series. The Crown Court of England and Wales is together with the High Court of Justice For the Cameroonian court by this name see High Court of Justice (Cameroon, for the Israeli court of this name see Supreme Court of Israel. Appeals are then made to the Court of Appeal and finally the House of Lords on matters of law. Court of Appeal, Court of Appeals, and Appellate Division redirect here for a list of specific courts using those titles see Court of Appeal The House of Lords is the second house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords"

Procedurally, offenses are classified as indictable and summary offenses; summary offenses may be tried before a magistrate without a jury, while indictable offenses are tried in a crown court before a jury. The distinction between the two is broadly between that of minor and serious offenses. At common law crimes are classified as either treason, felony or misdemeanor. In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. In Common law legal systems a felony is a serious Crime, often contrasted with a Misdemeanor. A misdemeanor, or misdemeanour, in many common law legal systems is a "lesser" criminal act

The way in which the criminal law is defined and understood in England is less exact than in the United States as there have been few official articulations on the subject. The body of criminal law is considerably more disorganised, thus finding any common thread to the law is very difficult. A consolidated English Criminal Code was drafted by the Law Commission in 1989 but, though codification has been debated since 1818, as of 2007 has not been implemented. The Jurisdiction of England and Wales does not have a Criminal Code though such an instrument has been often recommended and attempted A Law Commission, or Law Reform Commission, is an independent body set up by a government to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations on those Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Scotland has a completely separate legal system.

Selected criminal laws

Many laws are enforced by threat of criminal punishment, and their particulars may vary widely from place to place. Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant or aversive on a person or animal usually in response to disobedient or morally wrong behavior The entire universe of criminal law is too vast to intelligently catalog. Nevertheless, the following are some of the more known aspects of the criminal law.

Elements

Main article: Element (criminal)

The criminal law generally prohibits undesirable acts. An element of a crime (collectively called elements of crime) is a basic set of Common law principles regarding Criminal liability that with few exceptions An element of a crime (collectively called elements of crime) is a basic set of Common law principles regarding Criminal liability that with few exceptions Thus, proof of a crime requires proof of some act. Scholars label this the requirement of an actus reus or guilty act. Actus reus, sometimes called the external element or the objective element of a crime is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which when proved Some crimes — particularly modern regulatory offenses — require no more, and they are known as strict liability offenses. Strict liability is a Legal doctrine that makes a person responsible for the damage and loss caused by his/her acts and omissions regardless of Culpability (or fault Nevertheless, because of the potentially severe consequences of criminal conviction, judges at common law also sought proof of an intent to do some bad thing, the mens rea or guilty mind. Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive In Criminal law, mens rea the Latin term for "guilty mind" is usually one of the necessary elements of a Crime. As to crimes of which both actus reus and mens rea are requirements, judges have concluded that the elements must be present at precisely the same moment and it is not enough that they occurred sequentially at different times. ^[4]

Actus reus

Main article: Actus reus

An English court room in 1886, with Lord Chief Justice Coleridge presiding

Actus reus is Latin for "guilty act" and is the physical element of committing a crime. Actus reus, sometimes called the external element or the objective element of a crime is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which when proved John Duke Coleridge 1st Baron Coleridge PC ( 3 December 1820 &ndash 14 June 1894) was a British lawyer judge and Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It may be accomplished by an action, by threat of action, or exceptionally, by an omission to act. In the Criminal law, an omission, or failure to act will constitute an Actus reus ( Latin for "guilty act" and give rise to liability For example, the act of A striking B might suffice, or a parent's failure to give food to a young child also may provide the actus reus for a crime.

Where the actus reus is a failure to act, there must be a duty. A duty can arise through contract,^[5] a voluntary undertaking,^[6] a blood relation with whom one lives,^[7] and occasionally through one's official position. A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law ^[8] Duty also can arise from one's own creation of a dangerous situation. ^[9] Occasional sources of duties for bystanders to accidents in Europe and North America are good samaritan laws, which can criminalise failure to help someone in distress (e. Good Samaritan laws (acts in the United States and Canada are Laws acts protecting from blame those who choose to aid others who are injured or ill g. a drowning child). ^[10]

An actus reus may be nullified by an absence of causation. Causation is the "causal relationship between conduct and result For example, a crime involves harm to a person, the person's action must be the but for cause and proximate cause of the harm. For English law, see Causation in English law In the Law, a proximate cause is an event sufficiently related to a legally recognizable injury For English law, see Causation in English law In the Law, a proximate cause is an event sufficiently related to a legally recognizable injury ^[11] If more than one cause exists (e. g. harm comes at the hands of more than one culprit) the act must have "more than a slight or trifling link" to the harm. ^[12]

Causation is not broken simply because a victim is particularly vulnerable. This is known as the thin skull rule. The eggshell skull rule (or thin-skull rule) is a Legal doctrine used in both Tort law and Criminal law that holds an individual liable ^[13] However, it may be broken by an intervening act (novus actus interveniens) of a third party, the victim's own conduct,^[14] or another unpredictable event. A mistake in medical treatment typically will not sever the chain, unless the mistakes are in themselves "so potent in causing death. Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the "^[15] \

Mens rea

Main article: Mens rea

The English fictional character Robin Hood had the mens rea for robbing the rich, despite his good intentions of giving to the poor

Mens rea is another Latin phrase, meaning "guilty mind. In Criminal law, mens rea the Latin term for "guilty mind" is usually one of the necessary elements of a Crime. Robin Hood is an archetypal figure in English folklore, whose story originates from medieval times but who remains significant in popular culture where Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. " A guilty mind means an intention to commit some wrongful act. In English Criminal law, intention is one of the types of Mens rea ( Latin for "guilty mind" that when accompanied by an Intention under criminal law is separate from a person's motive. In law especially Criminal law, a motive is the cause that moves people to induce a certain action If Mr. Hood robs from rich Mr. Nottingham because his motive is to give the money to poor Mrs. Marion, his "good intentions" do not change his criminal intention to commit robbery. Robin Hood is an archetypal figure in English folklore, whose story originates from medieval times but who remains significant in popular culture where See also The Sheriff of Nottingham in classic stories The Sheriff of Nottingham was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Nottingham Maid Marian (short for maiden usually named Lady Marian Fitzwalter of Leaford (first mentioned c Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. ^[16]

A lower threshold of mens rea is satisfied when a defendant recognises an act is dangerous but decides to commit it anyway. This is recklessness. In the Criminal law, recklessness (also called unchariness) is one of the four possible classes of mental state constituting Mens rea (the For instance, if C tears a gas meter from a wall to get the money inside, and knows this will let flammable gas escape into a neighbour's house, he could be liable for poisoning. ^[17] Courts often consider whether the actor did recognize the danger, or alternatively ought to have recognised a risk. In Meta-ethics, the is-ought problem was raised by David Hume ( Scottish Philosopher and Historian, 1711 &ndash ^[18] Of course, a requirement only that one ought to have recognized a danger (though he did not) is tantamount to erasing intent as a requirement. In this way, the importance of mens rea has been reduced in some areas of the criminal law. In Criminal law, mens rea the Latin term for "guilty mind" is usually one of the necessary elements of a Crime.

Wrongfulness of intent also may vary the seriousness of an offense. A killing committed with specific intent to kill or with conscious recognition that death or serious bodily harm will result, would be murder, whereas a killing effected by reckless acts lacking such a consciousness could be manslaughter. Death is the termination of the biological functions that define living Organisms It refers both to a specific Inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a phrase used in English Criminal law which was introduced in sections 18 and 20 ^[19] On the other hand, it matters not who is actually harmed through a defendant's actions. The doctrine of transferred malice means, for instance, that if a man intends to strike a person with his belt, but the belt bounces off and hits another, mens rea is transferred from the intended target to the person who actually was struck. Transferred intent (or transferred malice in English law) is a doctrine used in both Criminal law and Tort law when the intention ^[20]

Strict liability

Main article: Strict liability

Strict liability can be described as a "but for" cause of harm on part of the defendant. Strict liability is a Legal doctrine that makes a person responsible for the damage and loss caused by his/her acts and omissions regardless of Culpability (or fault "But for" the action or product that caused the harm, nothing bad would have happened. Not all crimes require bad intent, and alternatively, the threshold of culpability required may be reduced. For example, it might be sufficient to show that a defendant acted negligently, rather than intentionally or recklessly. Negligence (Lat negligentia from negligere to neglect literally "not to pick up" is a legal concept in the Common law legal systems usually used to In the Criminal law, intention is one of the three general classes of Mens rea necessary to constitute a conventional as opposed to In the Criminal law, recklessness (also called unchariness) is one of the four possible classes of mental state constituting Mens rea (the In offenses of absolute liability, other than the prohibited act, it may not be necessary to show anything at all, even if the defendant would not normally be perceived to be at fault. Strict liability is a Legal doctrine that makes a person responsible for the damage and loss caused by his/her acts and omissions regardless of Culpability (or fault Most strict liability offenses are created by statute, and often they are the result of ambiguous drafting unless legislation explicitly names an offense as one of strict liability.

Fatal offenses

Main articles: Murder, Involuntary manslaughter, and Voluntary manslaughter

A murder, defined broadly, is an unlawful killing. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being in a manner considered by law as less culpable than Murder. Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during "the heat of passion" under circumstances that Unlawful killing is probably the act most frequently targeted by the criminal law. In many jurisdictions, the crime of murder is divided into various gradations of severity, e. In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority g. , murder in the first degree, based on intent. Malice is a required element of murder. Malice is a Legal term referring to a party's Intention to do Injury to another party Manslaughter is a lesser variety of killing committed in the absence of malice, brought about by reasonable provocation, or diminished capacity. Also see Provocation in English law. In Criminal law, provocation is a possible defense by excuse or exculpation In Criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by Excuse by which Defendants argue that Involuntary manslaughter, where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty intent, recklessness. Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being in a manner considered by law as less culpable than Murder.

Settled insanity is a possible defense. Settled insanity is defined as a permanent or "settled" condition caused by long-term Substance abuse and differs from the temporary state of Intoxication

Personal offenses

Main articles: Assault, Battery (crime), Rape, and Sexual abuse

Many criminal codes protect the physical integrity of the body. Assault is a Crime of Violence against another person. In some Jurisdictions including Australia and New Zealand, Battery is a term used by the Common law jurisdictions which involves an Injury or other Contact upon the Person of another in a manner likely Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual acts by one person upon another The crime of battery is traditionally understood as an unlawful touching, although this does not include everyday knocks and jolts to which people silently consent as the result of presence in a crowd. Battery is a term used by the Common law jurisdictions which involves an Injury or other Contact upon the Person of another in a manner likely Creating a fear of imminent battery is an assault, and also may give rise to criminal liability. Assault is a Crime of Violence against another person. In some Jurisdictions including Australia and New Zealand, Non-consensual intercourse, or rape, is a particularly egregious form of battery. Sexual intercourse, in its biological sense is the act in which the male reproductive organ (in humans and other higher animals enters the female reproductive tract Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person

Property offenses

Main articles: Criminal damage, Theft, Robbery, Burglary, and Fraud

Property often is protected by the criminal law. Property damage (or in the United Kingdom, criminal damage) is damage to or the destruction of public or private Property, caused either by a In Criminal law, theft (also known as stealing or filching) is the illegal taking of another person's Property without that person's freely-given Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. In the broadest sense a fraud is a Deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual Trespassing is unlawful entry onto the real property of another. Trespass (Fr trespas a crime properly a stepping across from Lat Many criminal codes provide penalties for conversion, embezzlement, theft, all of which involve deprivations of the value of the property. Criminal conversion, in Criminal law, is usually defined as the Crime of exerting unauthorized use or control of someone else's Property. Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets usually financial in nature by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted In Criminal law, theft (also known as stealing or filching) is the illegal taking of another person's Property without that person's freely-given Robbery is a theft by force. Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. Fraud in the UK is a breach of the Fraud Act 2006 by false representation, by failure to disclose information or by abuse of position. In the broadest sense a fraud is a Deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual

Participatory offenses

Main articles: Accomplice, Aid and abet, and Inchoate offenses

Some criminal codes criminalize association with a criminal venture or involvement in criminality that does not actually come to fruition. At law an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a Crime, even though they take no part in the actual Criminal offence. Some examples are aiding, abetting, conspiracy, and attempt. In the Criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between Natural persons to break the law at some time in the future and in some cases with at least one overt act

Defenses

Main article: Criminal defenses

Notes

References

External links

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Theories of Criminal Law
• Canadian Law and Self defense: Truscott: This unique study of how the Criminal Code of Canada relates to self defense is supported by reference to over 60 actual court cases.