act
An act in the legal sense refers to either a voluntary bodily movement or a term for a body of law /proposed law .
In the criminal law context, an act is part of the concept of actus reus and, therefore, is a prerequisite to finding a defendant guilty . To qualify as an act, a movement must be voluntary. Although most crimes require that the prosecution proves an act occurred, a breach of a duty to act, known as an omission , can also satisfy the actus reus requirement.
Regarding legislation , an act is a term for a formal body of law. Frequently, a collection of provisions regarding the same subject are known as an act like the Clean Water Act or the Civil Rights Act . Proposed legislation is also sometimes known as an act.
[Last reviewed in June of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team ]
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