Which term is Latin for 'the body of the delict'?

• A. The body of the crime
• B. Mala in se
• C. Corpus delicti
• D. Actus reus

Answer: (C)

Think of Latin terms used to name parts of a crime. Corpus delicti means the body of the crime—the essential facts that prove a crime happened. It isn’t enough to have a suspect confess; there must be independent evidence that the crime occurred and that the prohibited act caused the harm. That’s why corpus delicti is about proving the crime’s occurrence itself, not just describing the act.

This differs from actus reus, which is the actual guilty act or omission; mala in se refers to crimes inherently wrong by nature; and the English phrase “the body of the crime” isn’t the standard Latin term. So the correct term for the Latin phrase meaning the body of the delict is corpus delicti.