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Criminal Law & Justice vocabulary · Elements of Crime & Liability

Criminal negligence

Meaning in criminal law & justice, with examples

/ˌkrɪmɪnl ˈneɡlɪdʒəns/nounAdvanced term

In criminal law & justice, criminal negligence means: A serious failure to take the care that a reasonable person would take, which causes harm or death and is serious enough to be treated as a crime.

In Turkish: taksir, ağır ihmal, taksirli sorumluluk

How it is used

Used for cases such as deaths caused by unsafe work practices, medical errors or neglect of a child. English law speaks of 'gross negligence manslaughter'; other common law countries use 'criminal negligence' directly. Ordinary carelessness is usually a civil matter, not a crime.

Example sentences

  1. The site manager was charged with criminal negligence after a worker was seriously injured.

  2. Leaving the child alone for two days amounted to criminal negligence.

Common collocations

  • charged with criminal negligence
  • gross negligence
  • criminal negligence causing death
  • gross negligence manslaughter
  • mens reaA Latin term meaning 'guilty mind': the mental element of a crime, such as intention, knowledge or recklessness, which the prosecution must prove.
  • manslaughterThe crime of unlawfully killing someone without the intention needed for murder, or with a partial defence such as loss of control.
  • intentThe mental decision to do something or to bring about a particular result; many serious crimes can only be committed with intent.
  • criminal liabilityLegal responsibility for a crime, which means that a person can be prosecuted and punished for it.

More terms: Elements of Crime & Liability

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.