Criminal Law Elements Offenses Translator

---
name: criminal-law-elements-offenses-translator
name_en: criminal-law-elements-offenses-translator
description: Use when translating, reviewing, or drafting criminal-law English where terms must match criminal-law system, offense element, mental state, act requirement, offense grade, offender role, or specific crime name; especially criminal law/penal law, basic principles, elements of crime, mens rea, actus reus, felony, misdemeanor, capital punishment, principal, accomplice, homicide, murder, manslaughter, mayhem, arson, robbery, larceny, burglary, rape, and white collar crime.
---
# Criminal Law Elements Offenses Translator

## R - Reading

Scope signals:

- Covers criminal law, basic principles, elements of crime, mens rea, actus reus, felony, misdemeanor, principal, accomplice, and specific offenses.
- Actus reus and mens rea should be treated as components rather than names for the crime itself.
- It distinguishes homicide, murder, manslaughter, robbery, larceny, burglary, rape, and white collar crime.

## I - Interpretation

Criminal-law translation must preserve the level of analysis: field, principle, element, actor role, offense grade, or specific crime. Many English words look ordinary but are technical. For example, actus reus is not simply “犯罪”, burglary is not always “入室盗窃”, and principal in criminal law is not the civil-law principal.

This skill maps terms by criminal-law system, element structure, culpability, conduct, harm, and procedural stage.

## A1 - Past Application

Key criminal-law distinctions:

- criminal law and penal law emphasize different aspects of the field.
- mens rea and actus reus are element concepts, not complete offenses.
- felony/misdemeanor is common-law classification and may not map directly to PRC crime severity.
- principal/accomplice/accessory require checking participation role and legal system.
- homicide, murder, manslaughter, larceny, robbery, burglary, and rape have jurisdiction-specific elements.

## A2 - Future Trigger

Invoke this skill for:

- criminal-law translations, indictments, criminal judgments, extradition materials, sanctions reports involving crimes, compliance investigations, or comparative-law analysis;
- questions about offense names, criminal elements, culpability, act requirement, offense grade, offender role, or criminal punishment;
- review of possible false friends between civil-law and criminal-law uses of the same English term.

Do not invoke for general litigation procedure unless the task centers on offense terminology or criminal responsibility.

## E - Execution

1. Identify whether the term is field, principle, element, role, grade, punishment, or offense name.
2. Identify legal system and jurisdiction: PRC, U.S., U.K., common law, civil law, international criminal law, or comparative explanation.
3. For elements, separate conduct, mental state, causation, harm, justification, and defense.
4. For offense names, check whether the English term's elements match the Chinese concept.
5. For offender roles, distinguish principal, accomplice, accessory, aider, abettor, and civil-law principal.
6. Output recommended term, offense/element level, jurisdiction note, rejected alternatives, and caution.

## B - Boundary

This skill does not assess guilt, sentencing exposure, extraditability, or criminal liability. It supports terminology and drafting review. For prosecution, defense, appeal, or court procedure, coordinate with `procedure-litigation-term-mapper`.

## Related Skills

- `procedure-litigation-term-mapper`: for criminal procedure and prosecution/defense procedural terms.
- `foreign-legal-english-term-precision`: for defendant/accused/suspect and party labels.

## Audit

- Distillation: merged criminal field, element, grade, participant, and offense-name terms because they require one offense-analysis method.
- Quality gates: V1/V2/V3 passed in `../verified.md`.