A criminal act is referred to as an actus reus in Latin. Every crime must be broken down into two parts: the physical act of the crime (actus reus) and the mental intent to do the crime (intent to commit the crime) (mens rea). To demonstrate actus reus, a lawyer must show that the accused party was liable for a criminal offence. What is this actus reus, exactly? It is a tangible manifestation of human behaviour. When criminal policy deems such activity to be sufficiently detrimental, it is forbidden, and a sanction or penalty is imposed for its commission. Actus reus is a term used to describe a criminal act that occurred as a result of voluntary physical movement. This is a physical activity that causes harm to another person or property damage. An actus reus could be anything from a physical assault or murder to the destruction of public property.

Another type of actus reus is omission, which is a form of criminal negligence. It is the polar opposite of assault or murder, and it entails failing to take action that would have avoided injury to another person. Failure to alert others that you’ve created a dangerous situation, not feeding a newborn left in your care, or not properly finishing a work-related activity that ended in an accident are all examples of omissions. In each of these instances, the perpetrator’s inability to execute a required task resulted in injury to others. When criminal activities are involuntary, actus reus does not apply. Acts performed as a result of a spasm or convulsion, any movement produced while a person is asleep or unconscious, or activities performed while a person is in a hypnotic trance are all examples of this. In these instances, a criminal act may be committed, but it is not done on purpose, and the perpetrator will not be aware of it until after the fact.

Types of Actus Reus-

• Action crime- In action crimes, the transgression is merely an act with no bearing on the outcome. Perjury is committed, for example, when someone makes a press release while under oath that they do not believe to be accurate. It doesn’t matter whether or not the remark affects the outcome of the case; what matters is whether or not perjury was committed.

• Result crime– There are numerous examples of consequence crimes, including manslaughter, murder, and wounding. Many scholars claim that in this type of crime, the evidence is based solely on the outcomes of the crime.

• Conduct crime- The division of offences into “conduct crimes” and “outcome crimes” can appear cumbersome and useless at times. Nonetheless, it’s critical to recognise the fundamental characteristics of an offence, and this classification can help to highlight crucial differences between offences.

No mens rea without actus reus- When there is a combination of misconduct and malice aforethought, a criminal offence is often committed under the law (the guilty mind required for every criminal offence). Every crime requires the establishment of wrongdoing. It is insufficient that the crime was planned with malice aforethought if the wrongdoing was not also done.

Hence , The Latin term actus reus  refers to the “guilty act” that, when proven beyond a reasonable doubt in combination with the mens rea, “guilty mind,” produces criminal liability in common law criminal law jurisdictions such as England and Wales, Canada, Australia, India, Kenya, Pakistan, the Philippines, and South Africa. Some crimes in the United States also need proof of accompanying conditions and/or proof of a requisite result induced directly by the actus reus.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

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