Coincidence of Material and Mental Elements: Nature and Approache

According to accepted principles of criminal law, whether in written Civil Law system or common law System, the mere existence of material and mental elements of a crime is not suffice, but their coincidence is also required. Only when they coincide in time, it may be said that the crime has occurred and criminal responsibility is completed. Many discussions have been put-forward in legal writings about the principles of coincidence between material and mental elements of a crime as well as challenges that this principle can create in criminal justice system. It is tried in this research to first, explicate the meaning of the principle and the challenges that its conventional understanding can create and following which the problem of not coinciding is also explorated. Then, different approaches to explain these problems are critically reviewed. Finally, in the conclusion a chart is proposed which shows various forms of relative coincidence between mental and material element of a crime.