University Taster

Law – University Taster

  1. 1. Prerequisites
  2. 2. The Principles of Law and the Legal System
  3. 3. Constitutional Law
  4. 4. Criminal Law
  5. 5. Next Steps
Exit
Module Progress
0 / 10 Lessons
0%
Learning

In criminal law, two key ideas are used to determine if someone is guilty of a crime - actus reus and mens rea. Actus reus refers to the physical act of the crime while mens rea is about the person’s state of mind or intention. Both are needed to prove that a crime has been committed under the common law system in the UK.

Actus Reus

Actus reus refers to the physical element of a crime. It’s what the person accused of the crime must be shown to have done, or failed to do. It can consist of:

  • An act: A deliberate action, such as striking someone in an assault.
  • An omission: A failure to act when there is a legal duty to do so.
  • A state of affairs: Situations where liability arises simply because of a particular set of circumstances.
Figure 6. Actus reus is the guilty act itself, such as breaking into a house.

Continue learning with Knowness

Sign up to access the full lesson, predicted grades, revision tools, progress tracking, and more.

Create a free account
Terms of Service • Privacy Policy
© 2026 • Knowness

Report

Harassment or bullying behavior
Contains mature or sensitive content
Contains misleading or false information
Contains abusive or derogatory content
Contains spam, fake content or potential malware

Block Member?

Please confirm you want to block this member.

You will no longer be able to:

  • Mention this member in posts
  • Invite this member to groups

Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.

Report

You have already reported this .