In jurisprudence, Latin: animus nocendi is the subjective state of mind of the perpetrator of a crime, with reference to the exact knowledge of illegal content of his behaviour, and of its possible consequences.[1] [2]
In most modern legal systems, the Latin: animus nocendi is required as an essential condition to give a penal condemnation.
The Latin: animus nocendi is usually demonstrated by the verified presence of these elements:
When the author of the crime had no Latin: animus nocendi, it is usually considered that the crime still exists, but the author is innocent, unless a responsibility for guilt can be found in his conduct: the typical case of a car accident in which a wrong or even hazardous manoeuvre causes personal injuries to another car driver, is then managed as a crime for the presence of injuries, yet the author will not be prosecuted as the author of the injuries (he did not want to hurt the other driver, thus he had no Latin: animus nocendi), but simply as the author of a dangerous conduct that indirectly caused said effects, and would be held responsible at a guilt title.
The Latin: animus nocendi is often absent in people with mental illness, and in front of such people, a psychiatric expertise is usually required to verify the eventual Latin: animus. Minors too are in many systems considered little capable of a correct knowledge about the meaning or the consequences of their actions, and this is the reason for the common reduction of the passive capability of punishment they usually can receive.
A particular case of Latin: animus nocendi is the Latin: voluntas necandi, describing the Latin: animus nocendi of a person who willfully kills another human being. Establishment of Latin: voluntas necandi is necessary to prove murder or voluntary manslaughter as opposed to involuntary manslaughter.