The criminal fault and its relation to the mens rea

In criminal law the term “fault” is used in two different meanings: a general meaning that is the mens rea and the mental relationship between the criminal and the crime, and a specific meaning that is carelessness and recklessness in which fault is used versus the criminal intention. Many of criminal law authors give this concept the titles such as “unintentional fault” and “criminal fault”. In this paper, we mean by “fault” its specific meaning which is synonym for “criminal fault”. The main point in criminal fault is its relation to the mens rea. Some hold that in unintentional offences fault is the mens rea. Some others considering the nature of the mens rea, which is a mental matter have replaced it with elements such as carelessness and recklessness. To justify the mens rea in the offences based on criminal fault which is an act not a mental matter, the lawyers have put forward fife explanations.