Motive or Reason in Criminal Law

Abstract Guilt often encompasses volitional and intellectual mental processes and only in rare cases it will include affective processes. The motive and purpose are certain mental processes which the legislator sometimes introduces in the content of the offenses. The motive is the psychological causal support of human facts. The doctrine currently uses both the term of motive and that of reason, but the Criminal Code uses exclusively the term motive, which better communicates the conscious and rational character of these psychological processes. In the general section of the Criminal Code, mental processes of the motive are common among the general criteria of punishment individualization and also in listing the aggravating circumstances. In the special part of the Criminal Code mental processes of the motive can be found both for typical or special variants and aggravated or qualifying forms of certain crimes. Motive can be expressed explicitly by equivalent terms or by an implied manner, which entails the need for interpretation of the text.