ABSTRACT
The person who directly and immediately causes the actus reus of the offence is the ‘perpetrator’ or ‘principal’, while those who assist or contribute to the actus reus are ‘secondary parties’, or ‘accessories’. In some cases it may be obvious that a crime has been committed by one or both of two people but it may not be clear either who is the principal or whether the other was an accessory. Where the perpetrator of the actus reus of a crime is an ‘innocent agent’, someone without mens rea, or not guilty because of a defence such as infancy or insanity, then the person most closely connected with the agent is the principal. In the language of the criminal law a person who assists or encourages another to commit a crime is known as an accessory or secondary party. An indifference to the result of the crime does not of itself negative abetting.
