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View the related practice notes about Basic intent

Specific and basic intent

Intention refers to the outcome sought by the defendant. Offences may be described as either ones of ‘basic intent’ or of ‘specific intent’. The Court of Appeal has described this distinction as ‘elusive’. The Court nevertheless provided the following definition of specific intent:‘Crimes of specific intent are those where the offence requires proof of purpose or consequence, which are not confined to, but amongst which are included, those where the purpose goes beyond the actus reus (sometimes referred to as cases of “ulterior intent”).’The Court also approved the reasoning that:‘[A] distinction is to be made between (i) intention as applied to acts considered in relation to their purposes and (ii) intention as applied to acts apart from their purposes. A general intent attending the commission of an act is, in some cases, the only intent required to constitute the crime while, in others, there must be, in addition to that general intent, a specific intent attending the purpose for the commission of the act.’Put simply, offences of specific intent require...

Specific and basic intent

Specific and basic intent Intention refers to the outcome sought by the defendant. Offences may be described as either ones of ‘basic intent’ or of ‘specific intent’. The Court of Appeal has described this distinction as ‘elusive’. The Court nevertheless provided the following definition of specific intent: ‘Crimes of specific intent are those where the offence requires proof of purpose or consequence, which are not confined to, but amongst which are included, those where the purpose goes beyond the actus reus (sometimes referred to as cases of “ulterior intent”).’ The Court also approved the reasoning that: ‘[A] distinction is to be made between (i) intention as applied to acts considered in relation to their purposes and (ii) intention as applied to acts apart from their purposes. A general intent attending the commission of an act is, in some cases, the only intent required to constitute the crime while, in others, there must be, in addition to that general intent, a specific intent attending the purpose for the commission of...