... legal and philosophical debate. In regard to strict liability crimes, the approach is just as unsure. In criminal law there is said to be strict liability when there is liability even in the absence of mens rea and even though [his] ignorance is not attributable to any default or negligence on [his] part. This creates much controversy -the questions raised are: how can punishment in cases where the defendant believed they were doing no wrong be justified, and how can mens rea, supposedly the central vehicle by which the blameworthy are identified be sacrificed? Given the controversy that surrounds strict liability it is not surprising that the law should represent an uneasy compromise between the demands of full mens rea and the desire to protect society. Sometimes mens rea appears to be dominant, and at other times it is sacrificed entirely, with the legislature continually vacillating between the two. Thus, in ...

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