For those disinclined to look it up:
Kevin's English law glossary: mens rea Last modified: Jan 02


One of the major elements in culpability (see criminal culpability) is that the accused should have a mental state commensurate with committing the offence. This state is known as mens rea, which can be translated as `guilty mind' or `blameworthy mind'. Nearly all criminal offences require a demonstration of mens rea. However, it is unusual to see the term mens rea used in statute; instead statutes use terms like `intend' (see intention) or `reckless' (see recklessness) to express the mental state of the perpetrator. Some offences do not use any such words, and may therefore be interpreted as strict liability offences.