State of mind

State of mind

With the exception of offences of strict (and absolute) liability, proof of an offence requires proof that the defendant had the state of mind required for the offence at the relevant time. There is a presumption that offences require proof of a certain mental state unless it is clearly indicated otherwise.

Intention

Intention is not defined by statute and in certain circumstances its meaning may be unclear (often the issue arises in murder cases). There is a substantial body of judicial opinion on its meaning. Intention applies to:

•
consequences which a defendant wants to follow from their actions, and
•
consequences which a defendant might not want to follow from their actions but which they know are virtually certain to do so

Offences requiring specific intent are of two kinds:

•
where the mental element of the offence requires a purposive intent rather than recklessness, eg murder requires an intent to kill or do grievous bodily harm
•
where the offence is one of intent to do something beyond the act forming the offence (sometimes referred to as ‘ulterior intent’)

Where an offence may be committed intentionally

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