Open AccessThe Rule against Multiple Fictions
Author(s) -
Bruce Ziff
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
alberta law review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1925-8356
pISSN - 0002-4821
DOI - 10.29173/alr1678
Subject(s) - mens rea , constructive , liability , criminal liability , law and economics , criminal law , law , harshness , strict liability , constructive trust , sociology , compounding , political science , computer science , medicine , noise, vibration, and harshness , physics , nursing , process (computing) , quantum mechanics , vibration , operating system
The author explores aspects of the constructive mens rea found in the Criminal Code, primarily as these relate to accomplices to murder. By examining both basic principles of criminal liability in Canada and the rationale of constructive mens rea, the author seeks to expose the harshness of the current rules, which, when applied to accomplices, tend to compound constructive mens rea provisions. In result, the author proposes that the law adopt a 'rule against multiple fictions', designed to preclude that compounding.