The Element Of Criminal Liability

The Element Of Criminal Liability
Introduction
Crime can be defined as an action or omission that can is constituted as an offence, going against the values of society and is an act which is
punishable by law with either a fine, imprisonment or whatever punishment fits the nature of the crime. In this report there will be a discussion on the
two element on criminal liability which are as followed Mens Rea (guilty mind) and Actus Reus (guilty act). Different components constitute these
elements and are used to make up a crime. However there have been cases were the use of mens rea has very minimal effect and actus reus is the
only element proven in the offence. For example; Rape even though it is considered a serious offence, there have been incidents were lack of consent
was applicable to the crime as the person may have been induced to object to force, fear or fraud and the accused would have mentally believed that the
victim had consent hence lacking the mens rea element and continuing the sexual penetration which is the actus reus component of the offence. This
report will also cover the defences to mens rea (intoxication, mental impairment and infancy and also defences to actus reus (self–defence, consent,
execution of the law and misadventure/ mere accident) as well as strict liability in reference to the elements required for a crime and a table identifying
offence/s present in the given scenario.
Mens Rea
Mens Rea is what we refer to as the guilty mind. A conduct which has an intention as well as
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Liability in Criminal Law Essay
'Liability in criminal law normally requires the prosecution to establish that the accused has caused the relevant prohibited consequences or conduct to
occur. For instance, in homicide, that the accused has caused the victims death.'
Within the English Legal System, the chain of causation is established via numerous principles, which have been recognised by case law, as the
problem areas have come before courts. It is clear that when ascertaining whether the defendant is the person to fix liability, the courts will look at two
main issues. The first being whether, the defendants conduct had actually resulted in the death of the victim and secondly whether the defendants
conduct made him liable...show more content...
It was decided after having had looked at the facts that if it hadn't been for the driver travelling along the road the child's death would not have
occurred and therefore the charge in itself could not be sustained. Therefore, it is clear that the 'but for' test plays a significant part, as it has been a
way in which the courts have approached the idea of causation.
After having had looked at the factual cause of death, the legal cause must be taken into consideration, which consists of two factors. The first being
that the defendants act must be a substantial cause of death as explained in Cato 1976 and later emphasised in Kimsey 1971 where it was decided that,
the contribution must be 'more than a minimal' cause of death. The second factor being that no intervening act had broken the chain of causation,
because the conduct at the beginning of the chain far outweighed any other events, which may have taken place, after the original act had occurred.
Clearly, the courts consider the legal cause very closely when dealing with the requirement of causation.
The chain of causation itself consists of various categories, which suggest that the act in question wasn't the reason why the victim had died but did so
due to the fault of an intervening act and therefore pass on the blame. The first being that

Essay about The Criminal Justice System
The Criminal Justice System
The Criminal Justice System is one of the most important tools available to society for the control of anti–social behavior. The criminal justice system
needs to prove a balance between punishing the guilty and protecting the innocent being found guilty; however it is not as easy to convict those who
are guilty of committing crimes. There have been many miscarriages to justice where innocent people were sent to prison. Many people have been
affected by crime, this is due to statistics, which show the various number of crimes committed in particular areas.
Crime statistics are compiled differently by different forces which is notoriously unreliable. There are two...show more content...
Under the new rules, officers must record a crime anything that is reported as a crime. In the past, if an officer thought that someone was lying
(hoping for compensation perhaps) or thought that the crime was not as major as murder for example, then he or she did not nee to record it. If the
Government do succeed in the new system of compiling statistics then crime statistics may become increasingly reliable. This is because all crime is
recorded, no matter how big or small the crime is. However the statistics may not necessarily be entirely true, as many people may not report their
crime to the police. The majority of the crime not being reported is due to the fear within oneself, or victims may not think that the crime they have
been involved in was minor. Victims who are scared are more likely to be those involved in domestic violence or other sort of abuse. If there was a
couple, and the husband regularly abused his wife, the wife would get scared to report this to the police as she may believe that if her husband find
out then he will take revenge and might abuse her even more which may sometimes lead to extents such as murder. Or there maybe cases where
teenagers have been abused by bullies in school. They might be frightened to tell an adult, let alone the police as

Criminal Law Concepts
Rebecca Rodriguez
Springfield College School of Professional and Continuing Studies
1 Fernwood Ave, Enfield, CT 06082
Criminal Law Concepts, CJWB 160
September Term/2015
Instructor: Denise Duguay, MS
Most nations today follow one of two major legal traditions; Common law tradition or civil law tradition. The Common law is a body of law bases on
custom and general principles embodied in case law which serve as precedent and is applied to situations not covered by statute. The common law
traditions emerged in England during the middle ages and was applied within the British colonies across continents.
The law of the United States is largely derived from the common law system of English law,...show more content...
Common law can provide a backup should the statute laws fail for example in the case of the National Rivers Authority (NRA) and Anglers
Co–operative association v Clark (1994). In this case a pig farmer (Mr Clarke) released three million gallons of slurry into a 75km stretch of the
river Sapiston and Little Ouse which subsequently destroyed a fishery [2]. The NRA attempted to prosecute the pig farmer under sections of the
Control of Pollution act 1974 and the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries act of 1975 [2]. The court of appeal ruled that the farmer could not be held
liable as his knowledge of the discharge could not be proven [2]. The NRA and the Anglers association who were representing the interests of the
local angling club proceeded with a civil action against Mr Clarke [2]. The civil action case was successful and the NRA was awarded ВЈ90,000 in
legal expenses and to investigate the extent of damage and restock the fishery the local angling club received ВЈ8,450 in damages [2]. In this case the
common law provided a secondary option after the legislation in place had failed and inadvertently led to the protection of the environment. This case
shows that the common law does have its advantages and shows that environmental legislation can sometimes fail. In this legalisation failed because it
could not be proven that the Mr Clarke had knowingly caused harm

Questions concerning criminal law Essay
questions concerning criminal justice and safety
Questions Concerning Criminal Justice and Safety
i. What are the specific aims & purposes of the criminal law? To what extent does the criminal law control behaviour? Do you believe that the law is
too restrictive or not restrictive enough?
The specific aims and purposes of criminal law is to punish criminals, and prevent people from becoming future criminals by using deterrence. "Having
a criminal justice system that imposes liability and punishment for violations deter." (Paul H. Robinson, John M. Darley, Does Criminal Law Deter? A
Behavioural Science Investigation, Oxford Journal of Legal studies, volume 24, No. 2 (2004), pp. 173–205). Criminal law...show more content...
When males are 20–25 years old, the highest category for committing a crime, they have no other ways to show females how manly they are other
then fighting and committing crimes. I think the reason why older males don't commit more crimes compared to the younger generation is because
older folk have other ways to show their manliness like their job, how much money they have, or the kind of car that they drive. That being said
crime has nothing to do with biology, but it comes down to men trying to show how powerful they are in an attempt to "woo" a female. Concerning
the fact that males and females sharing the same environment but males being "more violent", I think the reason is because males aren't as protected
as females are. During high school kids always hear about fathers or brothers who will protect their child or sibling from anyone that hurts them in any
way. You never hear a sister or a mother saying that about their
questions concerning criminal justice and safety son. (Introduction to Criminology, Lecture 3, September 23, 2013, Professor Jan Stanners.) So
another factor about females being less aggressive is the fact that they are protected more and almost restricted from certain things because more
people worry about girls then boys. Studies are also showing that women's crime rates are increasing quite noticeably while males are slowly dropping.
I think this is because since the 1950–80's women's

Structural Functionalism And Structural Theory
Structural functionalism is a macro level approach to study sociology (Browning, 2015). Structural functionalists believe social consensus is what
holds society together; social consensus being a condition in which most members of the society agree on what would be good for everyone. Structural
functionalists view society as a web of social structures, each structure being functional to fulfill it's own needs, but dependent on all other structures
for survival (Vago, 2012).
The Criminal Justice system is a working system and can be explained through the eyes of a structural functionalist. It is a system comprised of many
interconnected structures each with their own functions, but without one another would cease to exist. Structural functionalist believes formal social
control, or law, keeps society together and that the legal system creates boundaries and a system of right or wrong (Browning, 2015).
The criminal justice system is comprised of three parts: police, courts, and corrections. Each component has its own duties, responsibilities, and distinct
purposes, but would fail if not effectively working with each other component. Police enforce what is right or wrong, courts provide means of checking
whether laws reflect majority of society, and corrections maintain social solidarity through control of an offender (Vago, 2012). Structural functionalists
view law, or the criminal justice system, as effectively controlling individuals' behavior (Browning, 2015).
Police,

Australian Criminal Justice System
The Australian Criminal Justice system has an intricate and diverse structure that makes it one of the most unique systems in the world. The
Commonwealth of Australia was approved by the British Parliament in 1900 and came into existence on January 1, 1901. The federal constitution
combined British and American practices, with a parliamentary government, but with two houses – the popularly elected House of Representatives and
Senate representing the former colonies. This began the start of a new era of policing. (Findlay, Odgers, Yeo). The Commonwealth of Australia is a
federalist government composed of a national government and six State governments. There are nine different criminal justice systems in Australia – six
states, two territories, and one federal. The eight States and Territories have powers to enact their own criminal law, while the Commonwealth has
powers to enact laws. Criminal law is administered principally through the federal, State and Territory police. (Chappell, Wilson, Heaton). In this essay
an in depth analysis of the Australian criminal justice system will be given, along with a comparison to the United States criminal justice system
throughout the essay. As well as an evaluation of the effectiveness of the system and finally a brief summary of how the Australian criminal justice
system structure could be improved to better suit the evolving society. Australia has a complex and very intuitive system of policing that

The Importance Of Criminal Law
Criminal Law is part of the criminal justice system that has a set of rules and regulations that punishes criminal offenses against society. Laws in
society are to enforce the actions of people in society, keep great morale and punish criminals. In addition, Civil Law defined by dictionary, "The
body of laws of a state or nation regulating ordinary private matters," which can lead to lawsuits, which goes to tort law. Also, there are several
procedural defenses in the criminal justice system that criminals or defendants use to claim that they were discriminated against or wrongfully accused
of a crime in the system. In addition, there are excuses used in the criminal justice system that a criminal might use if they committed the crime,
but should not be held responsible due to certain circumstances at the time of the act. Furthermore, the criminal justice system has several defenses
and certain laws that enforce rules and regulations, such as civil law, procedural law, excuses, and procedural defenses. Civil law is very effective
in the criminal justice for many reasons. According to LSU Law, "Civil Law is comprehensive system of rules and principles usually arranged in
codes and easily accessible to citizens and jurists." This quote means that civil law is easily accessible by the public and has a set of rules and
regulations that can be addressed at any time in the criminal justice system. Also, according to LSU Law, "Civil law is an adaptable system, with civil

Criminal Liability Essay
Criminal Liability "In a just society criminal liability should never be imposed without some degree of blameworthiness" Offences of strict liability
are those, which do not require any mens rea with regards to at least one or more of the actus rea. The mens rea usually requires intention and or
recklessness. However some crimes are possible to commit without any knowledge, intention or responsibility on behalf of the defendant. Therefore the
primary issue is should these defendants be guilty and held liable for these crimes under strict liability. In Gammon (Hong Kong) ltd v Attorney
General (Hong...show more content...
Even with offences surrounding issues of social concern mens rea is still expected unless it can be argued that by making a person liable through
strict liability would increase the vigilance of others to prevent the commission of the prohibited act. Strict liability is a delicate area for many
judges and disagreement lies as to whether there needs to be some sort of reform, the argument can be debated as follows; Strict liability allows a
prosecution to be brought in many difficult cases as it is very difficult in some cases to prove any form of mens rea and in order to maintain standards
the courts sometimes have to resort to delegated principles. The Privy Council said that as well as keeping high standards strict liability can be
necessary 'to encourage greater vigilance to prevent the commission of the prohibited act". Food manufacturer, builders, doctors must realise they have
to keep to the highest standards or face possible prosecution. Therefore strict liability is acting as more of a deterrent and warning for others than a
punishment for the defendants, who may not themselves, have committed an offence. Using strict liability as a deterrent for other people and making
the general public more attentive may help to stop similar incidents occurring in the

The Consensus Theory of Criminal Law Essay
The consensus theory of criminal law contents that society finds its own way and it is product of social needs and values, it also serves the interest of
society at large. Rules are for the community to control themselves and to put order. If a crime is committed it is punished by what the society
considers appropriate. The significance of that crime has to be evaluated by the same society as well as the punishment itself. The notion of acceptable
behavior needs to be set and established by society itself. If an individual crosses that acceptable line, then punishment is in order. This is a way for
society to limit and control crime. Laws are deemed to normalize and make society function in an...show more content...
The author also refers about nobody expressing concern about "sodomy" sexual practices between a male and a female or even worst, inside marriage.
2
The goals of criminal justice are Deterrence, Incapacitation, Rehabilitation and Retribution. Incongruence and incompatibility arises among those goals.
Deterrence is the how society punishes potential offenders so in order to keep them at bay. The sole fear and shame of being punished by wrongdoing
something prevents bad individuals or sometimes even good ones to commit or plans to commit a serious crime. Knowing that if someone commits
murder the punishment could be the death sentence is a determent enough to avoid it. Similar reaction can be viewed for crimes such as robbery or
some other violent and non violent acts. Many laws were written for the sole purpose of inflict deterrence.
Incapacitation is a mean of eliminating the treat and future crime acts; this can be done for example through imprisonment. If society can pinpoint an
individual as a possible society nuisance he or she can be incapacitated by jail and thus this individual will never commit a crime. Putting individuals to
jail is not the only way to incapacitate potential threats. In antique societies incapacitation by amputation was also a common practices. Hand

Criminal Law 101
The differences between legal rules and other kinds of rules is that criminal law refers to the consequences associated with breaking them. As the
substantive law meaning that it is the law of crimes, referring that Criminal law is the code conduct that all in the society need to follow the rule, and
the prohibitions on murder, assault, and burglary. Meaning that if an individual violates or commits these crimes they are going to be treated as a
criminal by punishing act from the state. Civil law is refers to procedural law to follow the rule of the state from someone that has committed a crime.
Which it is divided into 5 categories, for example torts, property, contract, family, and juvenile law.
2)Give one or two examples of how changing values and/or technology have led to changes in the law. Technology such as the cameras thatpolice
officers had on their uniform is a way of protection to themselves and the civilians in a situation, where a problem or crime scene it happened at that
moment. Meaning that it is a way to record a evidence that it can be use in the court, that can be one example of how changing the values or
technology have led to changes in the law.
3)Do you believe that "ruling class" (decide for...show more content...
I would say I preferred lived under a brutal dictator such as Hitler, Stalin, or Saddam Hussein than suffer the chaos of society without any kind of law.
Because under the power of a brutal dictator we still have some type or rules to follow, that if you follow the law you will lived in one way or the other
with peace. Instead of living under a chaos of a society without law, it would be so hard to lived and peace and not to be dead. Because in this situation
you can do any type of robbery, rape someone, and kill anyone in the street, so for this reason I preferred lived under a brutal

Criminal Procedure Essay
Criminal Procedure Policy Savannah Slorp CJA/353 August 23, 2010 Mr. Krauser Abstract Criminal procedures are safeguards against the
indiscriminate application of criminal laws and the wanton treatment of suspected criminals. Specifically, they are designed to enforce the
constitutional rights of criminal suspects and defendants, beginning with initial police contact and continuing through arrest, investigation, trial,
sentencing, and appeals. The main constitutional provisions regarding criminal procedure can be found in Amendments IV, V, VI, and XIV to the U.S.
Constitution. The Supreme Court for the first time began to extend the protections guaranteed in the Bill of Rights to exercises of power by state and
local governments....show more content...
SECTION 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of
persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of Electors for President and
Vice–President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature
thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty–one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged,
except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis or representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such
male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty–one years of age in such State. SECTION 3. No person shall be a Senator or
Representative in Congress, or Elector of President and Vice–President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State,
who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State Legislature, or as
an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the
same, or given aid or

Criminal Law Foundations Essay examples
Criminal Law Foundations
Megan Ray
CJA/484
April 7, 2012
Terri Madison
Criminal Law Foundations
Every system has a foundation that it builds off of even the criminal justice system. America finds governmental and legal foundations within the
Constitution and the Bill of Rights; as time has gone by there have been amendments added to these important documents. These amendments help to
support the constitution as well as the Bill of Rights. The Amendments make articles within the Constitution and the Bill of Rights clearer or have
modernized the rights making them more relevant to modern times. This paper will discuss the 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments and how they are
relevant to criminal law in not only adult court but...show more content...
A person would not be allowed a lawyer for their defense; in essence the criminal justice system would never have evolved in to the system that it is
today. These Amendments have to be upheld by the courts judges and it is thejudge's job to ensure that the rights afforded to the defendant are upheld
at all times. This is even more so in a juvenile court as juveniles are still tender in age and may not completely understand what is going on or the
ramifications of the crime that they have committed. These Amendments ensure that the rights of all people young and old are protected during the
course of their criminal cases. The daily operations of the criminal courts are designed to ensure that the rights of the people are upheld. This is done
through various rules and procedures, for example: As the evidence is presented in court and submitted as exhibits the judge will review the case and
ensure that the evidence is relevant, collected properly and handled through a chain of custody. This ensures that the evidence is properly acquired
and remains untainted, if it is not properly handled or the chain of custody is broken then it is inadmissible and the judge will not allow it in court.
For any reason if these procedures and rules are not followed then the defendant may appeal the case claiming that their rights were violated. If this is

The Purpose of Criminal Law
Laws serve several purposes in the criminal justice system. The main purpose of criminal law is to protect, serve, and limit human actions and to help
guide human conduct. Also, laws provide penalties and punishment against those who are guilty of committing crimes against property or persons. In
the modern world, there are three choices in dealing with criminals' namely criminal punishment, private action and executive control. Although both
private action and executive control are advantageous in terms of costs and speed, they present big dangers that discourage their use unless in
exceptional situations. The second purpose of criminal law is to punish the offender. Punishing the offender is the most important purpose of criminal
law...show more content...
On the other hand, positive law is forced by the government for everyone to obey. In order for the law to be a positive law it must be formed and
applied so that it is acceptable by most people .Common law is geared toward custom and usage for instance, nonstatutory customs, ways of life and
examples that help steer the decisions of the judicial system The purpose of criminal law is to catch those individual's that break the law and may harm
other people. Not only does criminal law show individuals what they have done wrong but it also states what the punishment will be if the law is
broken. Criminal law not only punishes the accused but it also offers protection through the judicial system that punishes and controls (http:/
/www.hg.org/crime.html, 2012).
The U.S. Constitution and state constitutions are written sources of American criminal law. They are the supreme law. The U.S. Constitution is the
law of this country and the state constitutions are the supreme law of the state. Another written source of American criminal law is the statutes passed
by Congress and state legislatures. The statutes refer to the conduct that is expected of the general public in near future. Administrative Agency
Regulations along with the Case Law are other forms of written American criminal law. Administrative

Functions Of The Criminal Court System
The function of the criminal courts in society is to control social order and protect the community. The criminal justice system is always changing
because of updated laws. The criminal court has five components; the judge, the prosecutor, defendant lawyer, the defendant and the juror. Each
component works together to provide the best result for both defendant and society. There are a few models inside the criminal court system that help
depict the usefulness of how the courts work. Two of these models are the adversarial model and the second is the consensual model. The adversarial
model is when the prosecutor and the defendant 's lawyer both speak before the judge and jury to show evidence pertaining to the defendant trying to
prove innocence or guilt. In a consensual model, is where the prosecutor and defendant 's lawyer hash out the charges against the defendant and agree
on an appropriate punishment. (Barken),pg 268 There are two more models inside the criminal court system that help portray the court 's efficiency this
would be Due Process Model and the Crime Control Model, these solves the predicament confronted by the criminal courts to guarantee a person
freedom and the need to protect the people. These two models comprise of analyzing crime and permitting the right justice to be conveyed. Due process
method was intended to verify defendants had their rights ensured and that they had a reasonable opportunity to protect themselves in court. This
model assumes that

Scottish Criminal Justice Essay
Scottish Criminal Justice
Scottish criminal justice is a very complicated are of study. There are many different topics of thought that surround the Scottish criminal justice
system, in terms of both physical and mental areas. The criminal justice system stems out into a number of different other subject areas mainly because
criminal justice affects so many different fields in society. It's not just simply about police arresting criminals, the accused going to court and ending up
the criminal goes to prison. There are many other extending factors connected with the process. There are many different officials involved each
putting input into different areas of the process. As mentioned it is not...show more content...
In 1995, two criminal psychologists decided it was necessary to undertake studies into this particular area of eye witness testimonies. They felt the need
to identify factors that must be taken into account when judging the value of the account given by the witness. Cutler and Penrod, after completing,
their investigation into the subject they decided that there were seven main factors that must be considered.
"A contrary finding is reported by Cutler, Dexter and Penrod (1990) who found
that judges' instructions failed to increase the scepticism . . . concerning eye
witness evidence"
(Feldman, 1993: p120)
The first of these factors relates to the actual eye witness themselves. It takes into account various individual and personal characteristics of the actual
witness. The first section measures stable characteristics of the witness. These characteristics are items that are personal to the individual at the time of
the incident. Police can judge similar testimonies to similar types of people because many people may fall into the same brackets when evaluating
using stable characteristics. Things that would be considered in this area would be the age of the witness, their gender and other things like personality
etc. The second factor that Cutler and Penrod

2.3 Conclusion:
The aim of criminal law is to protect the rights of the individuals and to safeguard the weak against the strong, law abiding against lawless and peaceful
against violent. The state has prescribed certain rules of conduct, sanctions for their violations and machinery to enforce sanctions and procedure to
protect that machinery.
"If men were angels no government would be necessary." ––– James Madison.
Hence, it is the primary function of the government to protect the basic rights to life and property. There can be no liberty if no protection of the basic
rights of the citizens by the government is...show more content...
Right to Life and Personal Liberty. People of India have become more receptive to quick, fair and affordable justice. The entire existence of the orderly
society depends upon sound and efficient functioning of the Criminal Justice System. It is rightly said that "Justice delayed is Justice denied".
Whether a guilty person is exonerated or an innocent is punished or there is an enormous delay in deciding the case, quality of justice suffers in all
these cases. Since the objections of the criminal justice system are not codified anywhere, hence they can be just inferred from different statutes. Every
democratic country aims at providing maximum sense of security to the people at large by dealing with crimes and criminals effectively and legally.
Our criminal justice system aims at reducing the level of criminality in the society by ensuring maximum detection of the reported crimes, convictions
of accused persons without delay and to meet the ends of justice.
India inherited the adversarial system of common law from the British Colonial Rulers and the criminal justice system of India is followed on the
same track. In adversarial system truth is supposed to emerge from the respective versions of the facts presented by prosecution and the defence before
a neutral judge. The term вЂ•neutral judge is emphasized here because in adversarial system there is no positive duty on the judge to

Criminal Criminology Essay
The criminal justice system is composed of three parts – law enforcement, Courts and Corrections – and all three works together to protect an
individual's rights and the rights of society to live without fear of being a victim of crime. Without these three we would have a bunch of chaos in the
world. When these three parts function together it makes the criminal justice system work like a well tuned machine. The first component of the
criminal justice system and perhaps the most important and dangerous is legislative, (law enforcement), which creates laws' is put into place for the
government and the citizens. It is designed to create laws, which people and or state should follow. This includes the localpolice department with all
...show more content...
A theory called Labeling theory, states that "people in power decide what acts are crimes, and the act of labeling someone a criminal is what makes
him a criminal. Once a person is labeled a criminal, society takes away his opportunities, which may ultimately lead to more criminal behavior. Another
theory is Biology, genetics, and evolution and this theory states "poor diet, mental illness. Bad brain chemistry and even evolutionary rewards for
aggressive criminal conduct have been proposed as explanations for crime. These two theories differentiate, because the labeling theory is controlling,
just because you are labeled a criminal and it's hard to find a good job doesn't mean that you should just go out committing more crimes that should
encourage you to do better and get yourself together. And the biology, genetics, and evolution are uncontrollable if you have a mental problem it is
not necessarily your fault. In a situation like that is best to have family members that you can rely on' you shouldn't have to live by yourself without
supervision if you have any type of illness that is untreatable, and that would cause you to hurt yourself and even others. And some people are not
living in the best conditions and maybe poor and need a gateway to make easier and faster money and they decide to do illegal

Outline and describe the structure and jurisdiction of the Scottish criminal and civil courts. Give examples of the types of cases these courts will hear
and indicate which Scottish legal personnel you would expect to find there.
Scottish courts are divided into two distinct and separate systems, each with its own jurisdiction and terminology. As stated above these are the civil
and criminal courts. First of all I will look into the structure and jurisdiction of the civil courts. The civil court deals with disputes between
individuals, companies or public bodies and can be in extremely diverse areas of law. Civil cases are said to be adversarial. This means that the judge
will hear legal argument and evidence from all parties and then...show more content...
The Inner House seldom listens to evidence and determines appeals from the legal arguments presented to it. Decisions are determined by a majority
vote of the judges. After this there is a right to further appeal and must be done so by means of petition to the House of Lords. The House of Lords is
the final court of appeal for civil cases from Scotland. It hears appeals from the Inner House of The Court of Session on questions of both fact and law
unless the case was begun in the sheriff court, when the appeal must be on a question of law. There are twelve law lords of whom normally two will
be Scottish trained judges. Although it is not a rule that a Scottish judge sits to hear an appeal from Scotland, it is usual for at least one of the five
judges to be Scottish. After the House of Lords have passed judgement they relay the return the case to the Inner House of the Court of Session for
them to give effect to the judgement.
Now we will move on the structure and jurisdiction of the criminal courts within the Scottish legal system. The first point I would like to highlight is
that the Scottish criminal court system distinguishes between offences that can be tried without a jury, called summary procedure and those that are
tried on indictment with a jury, called solemn procedure. The criminal system is also subdivided into four different courts. These are the District Court
or the Justice of the Peace

The Elements of Criminal Liability
ACTUS REUS & MENS REA
"Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea", or "an act does not make a man guilty unless his mind be also guilty (Burgess, 2004, p.8)." In criminal law,
for an individual to commit a crime, there must be present two elements. They are:
В•Actus Reus (meaning guilty act В– or omission); and
В•Mens Rea (meaning guilty mind).
Actus Reus is the guilty act or omission in the commissioning of a crime. In short, it is what the offender does or doesn't do which results in a crime
taking place. Mens Rea is the guilty mind behind the crime. It is what tells the offender that what they are doing or not doing is wrong but they do it
regardless. An act can be described as an action carried...show more content...
The accused must also show that they genuinely believed that it was necessary in self–defence to do what they did to protect themselves or others from
harm. The force used by the accused in their self–defence should match that of the individual placing the accused in immediate fear (The Law Hand
Book, 2003, p.1). However, this is not correct if the genuinely believed at the time that a greater force was required to save their life or the life of
another. For example, if the accused is being threatened by a knife, s/he can not retaliate in self–defence with a firearm. A knife, however, would be
appropriate. Therefore, in the defence of self–defence there is, again, no mens rea and so the accused is not guilty of an offence (such as murder,
assault, attempted murder, etc.).
В•Accident: in some cases, the accused may claim that the act or omission was a mere misadventure or accident. Therefore they did not possess a
guilty mind at the time of the offence and so, again, cannot be found guilty of an offence (Beazer, 2002, p. 100). For example: George was driving
his car through a busy shopping strip. He was travelling at 40km/hr, well below the prescribed speed limit, when Irene walked out onto the street in
front of George's car. George didn't have time to stop and hit Irene. Irene died. Because George was not driving

The Element Of Criminal Liability

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The Element Of Criminal Liability