Actus reus

• Actus Reus


  The guilty action
• In every crime there is what amounts to a set of ingredients which must be established before a verdict of guilty can be returned
• Elements of a crime

  • the actus reus (the guilty action')
  • the mens rea (the guilty mind')
• Actus reus


  The external features of a crime
• Mens rea


  The internal features of a crime
• Every crime always involves the prosecution establishing the actus reus beyond a reasonable doubt
• Some acts may be part of the actus reus of different crimes - depending upon its consequences
• Actus reus of rape


  • the accused having unlawful sexual intercourse
  • with a woman or another man
  • without consent
• If the person was consenting even though the accused thought he/she wasn't then the actus reus is insufficient (although this is sufficient actus reus for attempted rape)
• Liability may also arise in limited circumstances through a failure to act and so actus reus can cover both acts and omissions
• Any crime usually involves

  • some conduct
  • a prohibited consequence
  • certain surrounding circumstances
• Voluntary


  Actus reus must be voluntary (willed by the defendant)
• Actus reus will usually only be considered involuntary where the accused was either a) not in control of his or her own body through illness or b) where forced to do something by threat of being killed
• Lord Denning confined involuntary behaviour to "acts done whilst unconscious and to spasms, convulsions and reflex actions"
• If the defendants had been insane or if the involuntary nature of the act had been through drugs or alcohol then the results would have been different
• Crimes can be divided into four types depending upon the nature of their actus reus

  • action crimes
  • state of affairs crimes
  • result crimes
  • crimes of omission
• Action crimes


  The actus reus is simply an act - the consequences being immaterial
• State of affairs crimes


  The actus reus consists of circumstances rather than acts
• Result crimes


  The accused's behaviour must produce a particular result
• Crimes of omission


  Criminal liability is rarely imposed for true omissions at common law, the general rule being that there is no liability for an omission
• There are exceptions where what may appear to be an omission is in law treated as an act, such as continuing acts, supervening fault, and euthanasia
• There are also a number of exceptions where a duty to act is imposed, such as parent and child, cohabitee and child, public office, parties to contracts, and voluntary responsibility
• Law reform in this area is unlikely because it is often difficult to distinguish an act from an omission, a general duty to act might impose liability on a large number of people and overextend the frontiers of criminality, a general duty to act may cause people to over interfere in their neighbours business, and a general duty to act may give rise to problems with causation
• The actus reus must be voluntary, intentional or reckless
• Actus Reus is the physical element of an offence
• Voluntariness requires that the defendant acted willingly and not under duress
• Intentional conduct involves acting with the purpose of causing harm or realising that harm was likely to occur
• Recklessness occurs when the defendant appreciates that serious harm is a virtual certainty but proceeds anyway
• Involuntariness can negate either the actus reus or mens rea
• Intentional means that the defendant intended the consequence of his actions
• Recklessness occurs when the defendant acts without considering the risk of harm occurring
• Involuntariness can arise due to intoxication, automatism, mistake, insanity, or lack of capacity
• Automatism refers to acts committed without conscious control due to factors such as sleepwalking, epilepsy, hypoglycaemia, or other medical conditions.
• Necessity is a defence whereby the accused's actions were necessary to prevent greater harm from occurring.
• Duress is a defence whereby the accused's actions were caused by threats of death or serious injury against themselves or another person.
• Negligent means that the defendant failed to take reasonable care, resulting in death or injury
• Causation refers to whether the defendant's actions caused the victim's injuries
• Direct causation exists if the defendant's actions were the sole cause of the victim's injuries
• Negligence refers to an omission, where the defendant failed to take reasonable care
• The standard of negligence required depends on whether it is gross negligence manslaughter (GNM) or ordinary negligence manslaughter (ONM)