Rules of criminal law

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  • Rules of criminal law
    • Defining crime
      • Lord Atkin defined crime: the act must be forbidden by the state and it must be punished by the state.
      • Some crimes are created by the common law using the doctrine of precedent, e.g. murder.
    • Most crimes will have both an actus reus (a guilty act) and a mens rea (a guilty mind). They must occur at the same time.
    • Defending crime- removing liability
      • Without the appropriate mens rea of a crime, D cannot be guilty, but they could be guilty of another offence.
      • General defences
        • Capacity defences- D could not form the mens rea
        • Necessity defences- D has an excuse for forming the mens rea
    • Proving criminal liability
      • Burden of proof- D is innocent until proven guilty.
      • Standard of proof- D's guilt must be proved 'beyond all reasonable doubt'
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