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Guilt as a legal term refers to legal debt and liability in any area of law. This is both the actus reus and the mental state of the accused. The basic principle is that a defendant should be able to think about the harm that his actions may cause, and should therefore aim to avoid such actions. Different forms of responsibility use different notions of fault, in some it is not necessary to prove guilt, but the absence of guilt. Nevertheless, an understandable controversy over no-fault liability cases remains. First and foremost, there is the outrageous injustice (depending on how you look at it) done to the individual. Being charged and convicted of a crime that not only did you have no idea you had committed, but perhaps even had a deep, personal desire not to commit, will leave a bitter taste in everyone`s mouth. Libertarian arguments that the concept of no-fault responsibility does more harm than good to society cannot be immediately rejected. In addition, it can be argued that convicting a person for a crime they did not want to commit minimizes the notion of criminal culpability and could encourage other criminal thoughts in those who would not otherwise have had it. If the criminal act is caused by an act of automatism, it means that the act was caused by an involuntary movement of the limbs and was not controlled by neural stimulation, thus eliminating the guilt of the accused. This was demonstrated in Hill v. Baxter (1958) [1], where the defendant injured a person by ramming his car. He argued that his action was not voluntary because he did not know what had happened.

However, he was found guilty because the judge found that drowsiness or drowsiness while driving is not automatic. In the case of coercion, the accused committed the act in response to a threat of death or serious bodily harm against himself or herself or a loved one or person for whom he feels responsible. Therefore, he is exempt from guilt because his actions were done to prevent such damage from being caused. It would be unreasonable to convict the accused of an offence committed under duress. [3] Our courts reject strict liability and depart from the principle of strict liability only if there is clear and convincing evidence (S v Arenstein 1964 (1) SA 361 (A); S v. Qumbella 1966(4) SA 256 (A). Verity Adams is a barrister at Trinity Chambers in Newcastle. His research interests include criminal law and evidence, immigration and international law.

No-fault liability is a circumstance in which the accused is held criminally responsible for his or her actions, even if there is no criminal intent. In other words, cases of strict liability require only actus reus, without the requirement of mens rea. This directly contradicts the usual principle of criminal law in the United States, according to which it is better to acquit a guilty person than to convict an innocent person. In the case of liability through no fault or wrongdoing, it is better to condemn an innocent person than to acquit a guilty person. There are several lines of thought behind this idea. First of all, cases of no-fault liability are usually only minor offenses and violations, offenses by law, crimes mala prohibita, in which little real harm is caused to society. In general, these crimes are not stigmatized by society and are little more punishable than fines and sometimes a minimum prison sentence. In addition, it can be very difficult to prove guilt for such crimes. Did the bartender really want to sell alcohol to the minor? This issue could end up in the appellate courts for a very, very long time – theoretically forever. Instead, it is generally felt that the relatively low sentence and the general desirability of enforcing these rules justify the practice of no-fault liability. Otherwise, nothing would really stop teenagers from flooding our bars and leaving the whole scene tasteless in general. For all these offences, the accused is responsible for the offence and guilty if he commits the offence with intent to cause the harm or if he is subjectively reckless as to whether the harm occurred.

This recklessness is sufficient to prove the fault of the defendant. With regard to versari, a person who participates in an illegal activity is criminally liable for all the illegal consequences of this activity, even if he does not have the necessary fault (intent or negligence) in relation to these consequences. Thus, purely accidental and innocent illegal consequences of illegal activity were punishable. However, if a murder is committed intentionally in the name of religion, ideology, etc., or against particularly vulnerable groups such as children, or continuously (such as terrorism or serial murder), the accused may receive a life sentence (never again see the light of day) to reflect his degree of guilt.