Chapter 2 Key facts checklists

The elements of an offence are found in the definition of the offence, and that is contained in a statute or in cases (common law).
These elements are known as the definitional elements of the offence.
The definitional elements are broken down, to manage them more easily, into actus reus and mens rea.
The actus reus consists of prohibited conduct (acts or omissions), prohibited circumstances, and/or prohibited consequences (results).
A person can be criminally liable for failing to act (ie an omission), but only where there is a duty to act. Imposing criminal liability for an omission can be controversial.
Causation is a key part of consequence/result crimes. The prosecution must prove that the result was caused by the defendant. In order to do this, the chain of causation must first be established, and then consideration must be given to any intervention which might break the chain.