Actus reus

Actus reus

It is the physical element a crime composes of
Means the guilty act
Each crime has its own actus reus
1. E.g for a section 20 the actus reus is to unlawfully wound or cause GBH
The actus reus comprises of..
1. conduct by act or omission
2. a result from the conduct
3. And/or surrounding circumstances
4. The act could also be a state of affairs which requires a result
A state of affairs means
1. being in a situation which has be declared to be wrong
  1. E.g being drunk in a car even though you have no intent to drive it
A result .....
1. is a consequence of an act or omission
The surrounding circumstances
1. Are illustrated under the theft act
  1. The property must "belong to another"
    1. Here there has to be surrounding circumstances otherwise it is not theft
The act has to voluntary on the defendant
1. This means "your mind is in control of your actions"
  1. E.g in quick
  2. E.g in Hill v Baxter
    1. A spontaneous reflex action happened due to the swarm of bees causing the car to loose control
There is one situation in which an involuntary act is a crime
1. In Winzar
  1. The man was found drunk on a public highway

Resource summary

	Created by hayley about 11 years ago