What Constitutes Crime And Cybercrime, And Differences...

globally and this can be directly linked to the differences in the definition of what constitutes crime and cybercrime, and differences in Legal System of various nations. The differences in definition are because of the fundamentals of traditional criminal law. In criminal law, there are two important elements that must be present. It is a common test of criminality expressed in this Latin phrase: ’actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea’, which means the act is not culpable unless the mind is guilty. The onus is to prove that, there is an actus reus, or guilty act, and a corresponding mens rea present before there is a conclusion that a crime has been committed. It also follows that a person acting in a mental fault cannot sustain†¦show more content†¦Therefore in both cases the extent that the computer is used as a tool or instrument to commit a crime determines the proof of culpability. The actus reus of the computer crime is its content. Relating this to cy bercrimes lies in the communication means through which the crime was committed that is; the internet and the connectivity of computers. Therefore the crime committed through the use of the internet connectivity, primarily qualifies the offence as if the offence concerned relates to tangible property. The definition of what constitutes a computer crime varies from country to country. There is no universally accepted definition . In practice the two similar category of crime have been treated as two separate form of crime. Some Commonwealth countries, follow the United Kingdom in legislating new laws to deal with computer crime and existing laws to deal with cybercrime and modifying the existing law to accommodate the ever evolving technological development and appropriate enforcement mechanisms. The modification of existing laws does not always occur at the same rate as the technology that facilitates the crime leading to ‘a lost in translation phenomenon’ making the ne w law either antiquated or inadequate for the crime for which it was initially modified to deal with.