Legal Definitions - internal act

An internal act refers to a mental state, intention, decision, or thought process that occurs within an individual or entity, but has not yet manifested as an observable physical action in the external world. It represents the "thinking" or "deciding" phase before the "doing" phase. In legal contexts, while often crucial for establishing intent (mens rea) or a state of mind, an internal act alone is generally not sufficient to incur legal liability unless it is combined with an external act (actus reus) or specifically made punishable by law (e.g., conspiracy, certain forms of preparation).

• Criminal Intent: Imagine a person who, while sitting alone, *conceives the idea* to defraud an insurance company by faking an injury. This thought process and the formation of the intent to deceive, occurring entirely within their mind, constitute an internal act. It is not yet a crime until they take an external step, such as filing a false claim or staging an accident. The internal act of forming the intent is a necessary component for many crimes, but it must be paired with an external act to become legally actionable.

• Corporate Decision-Making: Consider the executive committee of a corporation that *discusses and decides* in a closed-door meeting to acquire another company. The deliberation, the vote, and the final decision itself are internal acts of the corporation. These internal acts reflect the company's will and strategy. The actual acquisition process, involving negotiations, signing agreements, and transferring assets, would be the external acts that follow from this internal decision.

• Planning a Civil Wrong: An individual might *mentally plan out* how they will spread false rumors about a competitor's business to damage their reputation. The detailed planning and the malicious intent formed in their mind are internal acts. These internal acts only become legally actionable as defamation once they actually communicate or publish the false rumors to others (an external act), causing harm to the competitor.