Analytical Examination of General Malice in Light of the Material Element of Crime

Abstract

Criminal law scholars have assigned a chapter to the degrees of malice in their writings and have addressed several topics under it. What comes to mind from the expression "degrees" is the division of malice based on intensity and weakness. However, with a little reflection on the examples of criminal intent, it can be understood that criminal intent is essentially devoid of intensity and weakness. The question raised in this study is: what is meant by general criminal malice in criminal law? The author believes that general criminal malice in criminal law refers to the perpetrator's intent to commit the act. This research aims to identify general criminal intent and its position in the criminal liability of offenders and seeks to examine general intent as one of the elements of the material element of the crime. This research uses a descriptive-analytical method and relies on library tools, journals, and articles. In general, it can be acknowledged that general criminal intent or the intent to engage in criminal behavior is one of the fundamental and important characteristics of intentional crimes, and without it, the realization of intentional crime is negated. On the other hand, in some classifications, what is defined is not criminal intent but rather a weaker mental state than intent, which is included in the realm of criminal mistake, or for certain reasons, it has been classified under criminal intent.