Term | Definition |
crime | an act of omission of an act that is prohibited and punishable by federal statute |
criminal law | the body of laws that prohibit and punish acts that injure people, property, and society as a whole |
quasi-criminal laws | laws covering less serious offenses at the provincial or municipal level; most often punishable by fines |
actus reus | "the guilty act" - the voluntary action, omission, or state of being that is forbidden by the Criminal Code |
mens rea | a deliberate intention to commit a wrongful act, with reckless disregard for the consequence |
intent | a state of mind in which someone desires to carry out a wrongful action, knows what the results will be, and is reckless regarding the consequences |
general intent | the desire to commit a wrongful act, with no ulterior motive or purpose |
specific intent | the desire to commit one wrongful act for the sake of accomplishing another |
motive | the reason a person commits a crime |
knowledge | the awareness of certain facts that can be used to establish mens rea |
criminal negligence | wanton or reckless disregard for the lives and safety of others, sometimes causing serious injury or death |
recklessness | consciously taking an unjustifiable risk that a reasonable person would not take |
wilful blindness | a deliberate closing of one's mind to the possible consequences of one's actions |
regulatory laws | federal or provincial statutes meant to protect the public welfare |
liability | legal responsibility for a wrongful action |
strict liability offences | offences that do not require mens rea but to which the accused can offer defence of due diligence |
due diligence | the defence that the accused took every reasonable precaution to avoid committing a particular offence |
absolute liability offences | offences that do not require mens rea and to which the accused can offer no defence |
perpetrator | the person who actually commits the crime |
parties to an offence | those people who are indirectly involved in committing a crime |
aiding | a criminal offence that involves helping a perpetrator commit a crime |
abetting | the crime of encouraging the perpetrator to commit an offence |
counselling | the crime that involves advising, recommending, or persuading another person to commit a criminal offence |
accessory after the fact | someone who knowingly receives, comforts, or assists a perpetrator in escaping from the police |
party to a common intention | the shared responsibility among criminals for any additional offences that are committed in the course of the crime they originally intended to commit |
attempt | the intention to commit a crime, even when the crime is not completed |
conspiracy | an agreement between two or more people to carry out an illegal act, even if that act does not actually occur |