Criminal Law

A crime is thought of as an act which the state considers to be wrong and which can be punished by the state. There are some acts which are crimes in one country but not in another. Although there is some agreement among the states as to which acts are criminal. In many legal systems it is an important principle that a person can not be considered guilty of a crime until the state proves he committed it. The state must prove his guilt using statutes. Since the circumstances of the case may be very different, the interpreting of the statute is very important. There are usually two important elements to a crime: the criminal act itself (Actus Reus) and the criminal state of mind of the person when he committed the act (Mens Rea). In some cases doing nothing, for example, not feeding a child may also be considered as actusreus. In general, if the prosecution fails to prove either actusreus or mens, the court must decide there was no crime and the case is over. Although, if actus and mens have been proved, a defendant may still avoid guilt if he can show he has a defense – a reason the court should excuse his act. In different countries defenses are dressiness, instantiation, intoxication, self-defense etc. And mitigation may make one’s punishment not to be harsh.