Criminal Law – Core Principles of Actus Reus and Mens Rea with Case Law | Lecture Summary

Table of contents
•Introduction ...................................................................... Page 1
•Actus Reus
2.1 Definition and Elements ..................................... Page 2
2.2 Voluntary Acts ........................ Page 3
•Omissions………………………………page 4
2.3 Causation .................................................................. Page 5
•Mens Rea
3.1 Definition and Importance ............................... Page 6
3.2 Types of Mens Rea ............................................. Page 7,8
- Intention
- Recklessness
- Negligence
•Coincidence of Actus Reus and Mens Rea ............... Page 9
•Transferred Malice .................................................. Page 10
•Conclusion ........................................................................ Page 11

, Introduction

• Criminal liability generally requires two key elements:
• Actus Reus – the physical conduct of the crime.
• Mens Rea – the mental intention or knowledge of wrongdoing.
• To prove a criminal offence, prosecutors must usually establish bot
elements occurred at the same time. These concepts form the
foundation of criminal law and are applied across most offences,
including theft, murder, assault, and more.