Criminal Law

• Duress means the defendant committed the act under threats of serious bodily harm from another person.
• The Chain Of Causation means the link between the defendants actions and the victims injury
• Mens rea is the mental element of the offence, the intention to commit the crime.
• Actus Reaus is the physical aspect of the crime
• Actus reaus translates to "Guilty Act"
• Mens rea translates to guilty mind or guilty mindedness.
• Depending on the definition of the crime , the actus reus could fall into one of 4 types. Some crimes require a positive act (conduct ) some require an omission (failure to act), some require the person to cause a specific result (consequence) some require simply being in a set of circumstances / state of affairs which is against the law.
• A crime where an actus reus is an act is battery, which is to use or apply unlawful force on a person.
• A crime where the actus reus is an omission (failure to act) is the crime of failing to stop at the a traffic signal. An omission