ABSTRACT
Mens rea means the mental element of an offence. The prosecution must prove that the accused had the relevant mens rea for the offence charged. Intention is the highest level of mens rea. It is also referred to as specific intention. Intention has never been defined by Parliament, but the Draft Criminal Code suggested the following definition: a person acts intentionally with respect to a result when he acts either in order to bring it about or being aware that it will occur in the ordinary course of events. Intention cannot be inferred unless the harm caused was a virtual certainty as a result of the defendant's actions and the defendant realised that this was so. The jury should be directed that they are not entitled to infer the necessary intention unless they feel sure that the consequence was a virtual certainty as a result of the defendant's actions and that the defendant appreciated that such was the case.
