PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LIABILITIES PREPARED BY : TWAHA I.WAZIRI

WHAT IS CRIME? There is no real answer to the question, What is crime? There are popular ideas about crime: crime is bad behavior, antisocial behavior, blameworthy acts, and the like. But in a very basic sense, crime is a legal concept: what makes some conduct criminal, and other conduct not, is the fact that some, but not others, are “against the law.”

Cont… Crime :an offence against an individual or the state which is punishable by law. Crime :An act committed or omitted in violation of law for bidding or commanding. Crime: activities that involve breaking the law.

WHAT IS CRIMINAL LIABILITY? A comprehensive legal term that describes the condition of being actually or potentially subject to a legal obligation. Liability is an obligation for which more than one person is responsible. Liability means legal responsibility for one's acts or omissions.

Criminal liability is defined by "an act that may be prosecuted by the state in accordance with the state's criminal code." Someone is criminally liable for actions that break the law if the person broke the law knowingly and willfully and if the person exhibited reckless behavior which resulted in a crime or acted with criminal negligence

THE ELEMENTS OF A CRIME It is a general principle of criminal law that both the physical act (actus reus) and the guilty mind (mens rea) must be present at the same time for a crime to have occurred. Its importance is illustrated by this example. Joe picks up his shoes from the locker room at his golf club and takes them home.

CONT… When he returns home he realizes that they are not his shoes but those of another club member but decides to keep them because they fit and are much better than his own. The criminal law relies on the concept that the act of depriving the owner of the shoes continues until the point at which joe formed the guilty mind (mens rea) to take the shoes. That is the point at which the offence occurs – when there is both a guilty act and a guilty mind.

THE INGREDIENTS AND BASIC ELEMENTS OF A CRIME. The basic elements of crime are:- ACTUS REUS and MENS REA. A crime, for the purpose of analysis must be divided into two elements, namely ACTUS REUS and MENS REA.

ACTUS REUS (THE CRIMINAL ACT) Actus reus is one of two components of a crime, the other being mens rea. Actus reus refers to the physical component of a crime, the act of committing the crime (physical act of taking something from someone's house).

There is no punishment for thinking about a criminal act CONT… There is no punishment for thinking about a criminal act A crime must have an actus reus, Latin literally for a bad act.

CONT… A defendant has committed the actus reus of an offense if he has done some act that is an action prohibited by law. Most crimes consist of a defined set of actions that together are prohibited.

MENS REA ( THE GUILTY MIND) Mens rea, in contrast, is the mental component of crime, the existence of a criminal intent, and this requires the offender to have intended to carry out the physical act. Both components are required for conviction under criminal law although for some other laws, called laws of absolute liability, only the physical component is required.

CONT… Generally speaking ,before a man can be convicted of a crime it is usually necessary the prosecution to prove:- that a certain event or a certain state of affairs which is forbidden by the criminal law has been caused by his conduct “The Actus Reus”( unlawful act) that this conduct (the Actus Reus) was accompanied by a prescribed state of mind ( The Mens Rea) the guilt mind. Both elements i.e. Actus Reus and Mens Rea must be proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution. See section 294 of the Penal code.

Cont… Actus Reus and Mens Rea are best expressed in the Latin Maxim (saying ) “Actus Non Facit Reum Nis Mens Sit Rea” “An act does not make a man guilt of a crime unless his mind also is guilt” .It is perhaps the best known maxim of English criminal law, maxim coined by Sir Edward Coke, the Attorney general of England at the beginning of the 17th c.

Cont…. The maxim currently entrenched in our law recognizes that there are two necessary elements in crime. A physical element “Actus Reus”. Actus literally means “act” but while most crimes required that the accused commits a certain act this is not always the case. Criminal liability may also arise through failure to act and so Actus can cover an omission as well as an act. Perhaps it would be better to speak of conduct since conduct can be taken to include commission and omission.

Cont… A mental element “ Mens Rea”- That is before any person is found guilty of a crime both elements have to be established. So it is necessary for the prosecution to prove that: the certain event or a certain state of affairs which is forbidden by the criminal law has been caused by the conduct of the accused person and that is conduct was accompanied by a prescribed state of mind.

Cont… Even this enlarged meaning of Actus may not cover all cases since an occasion can be seen in further pedagogical materials, Actus Reus and state of affairs, criminal liability may be imposed for a state of affairs without any requirement for conduct on the part of the accused.

Cont… A crime however requires more than conduct: the Actus must be Reus (unlawful or prohibited by criminal law). For example, If X fires a rifle he is engaged in conduct; but to fire a rifle without more, is not a crime. Suppose then, that X aims his rifle at Y and deliberately kill him, X has now brought about a consequence which consequence is normally proscribed by the law of murder-normally but not always.

Cont… Whether or not X will be guilt of murder depends upon the circumstances surrounding the killing of X will not be guilt of murder if Y is an enemy in time of war or if X is acting in circumstances of self defense. Thus we can say that crimes generally are comprised of :-