Actus reus

It is hornbook criminal law that criminal offenses are defined in terms of an actus reus (criminal act) and a mens rea (criminal mind).

A brute emotional reflex to the actus reus, the bad act (‘She killed her husband! Shame!’), could trigger an urge for retribution regardless of her intention.

Every criminal offence must contain actus reus elements. A defendant will not be liable for a criminal offence unless the actus reus of the offence is proved: Deller (1952)36 Cr app r 184. Although the vast majority of criminal offences consist of both actus reus elements and mens rea elements, some criminal offences do not require a mens rea element for every element of the actus reus.