Elements of proof

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 516.

In many legal systems it is an important principle that a person cannot be considered guilty of a crime until the state proves he committed it. The suspect himself need not prove anything, although he will of course help himself if he can show evidence of his innocence. The state must prove his guilt according to high standards, and for each crime there are precise elements which must be proven. In codified systems, these elements are usually recorded in statutes. In common law systems, the elements of some crimes are detailed in statutes; others, known as “common law crimes”, are still described mostly in case law. Even where there is a precise statute, the case law interpreting the statute may be very important since the circumstances of each crime may be very different.

For example, the crime of theft is defined in England under the 1968 Theft Act as “dishonestly appropriating property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of if”. There are further definitions of each element of the definition, such as appropriating, which may mean taking away, destroying, treating as your own, and selling. The same Act also defines in detail crimes such as burglary (entering someone's land without permission intending to steal or commit an act of violence) and robbery (using force or threats in order to steal from someone).

There are usually two important elements to a crime: (i) the criminal act itself; and (ii) the criminal state of mind of the person when he committed the act. In Anglo-American law these are known by the Latin terms of (i) Actus Reus (*состав преступления)and (ii) Mens Rea (виновная воля).