Tahallisuuteen

Tahallisuuteen is a Finnish term used to describe the mental state of intentionality or deliberate purpose in relation to actions, particularly within legal and normative contexts. It stems from the adjective tahallinen, meaning deliberate or on purpose, and refers to a situation where a person acts with awareness of the possible or intended consequences of their conduct.

In Finnish criminal law, tahallisuus (and by extension tahallisuuteen when expressed in the illative form in texts) is a central criterion for distinguishing between different forms of culpability. A crime can be committed intentionally or negligently, and the presence of tahallisuus generally leads to harsher liability and punishment than acts carried out without such intent. Tahallisuus can involve purposeful aims, knowledge that the prohibited result will occur, or acceptance of the risk that it will occur.

Assessment of tahallisuus relies on evidence about the offender’s motives, beliefs, and awareness, as well as the surrounding circumstances. Courts consider statements, planning, actions, and other circumstantial indicators to determine whether the act was performed with intent or without it. The concept also appears in everyday language to emphasize that a deed was done deliberately, as opposed to accidentally.

Overall, tahallisuuteen and tahallisuus describe the deliberate, knowledge-based, or knowingly reckless mental state that plays a key role in evaluating liability in Finnish law and in expressing intentional conduct in general discourse.