actus reus The elements of an offence excluding those which concern the mind of the accused. The phrase derives, I believe,from a mistranslation of the Latin aphorism Acts non facit reum nisi mens sit rea. Properly translated this means an act does not make a man guilty of a crime unless his mind be also guilty. It is thus not the actus which is reus but the man and his mind respectively |
See Also: Translator EN-BM See Also: Translator BM-EN |