Actus non facit reum, nisi mens rea (an act does not make a person legally liable unless the mind is legally blameworthy). Explain the meaning and importance of this maxim by reference to decided cases.

... Criminal Law Written Work (Autumn Term): Actus non facit reum, nisi mens rea (an act does not make a person legally liable unless the mind is legally blameworthy). Explain the meaning and importance of this maxim by reference to decided cases. Actus non facit reum, nisi mens rea is the maxim that constitutes the basis for defining the two elements that must be proved before a person can be convicted of a crime. This essay will go on to consider what the precise meaning of actus reus and mens rea are, and shall then examine relative cases in which these elements of a crime have been found to be present or absent. The definition of the word 'Actus reus' under the Oxford Dictionary of Law (New Edition) is: "[Latin: a guilty act] The essential element of a crime that must be proved to secure a conviction, as opposed to the mental state

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