The Latin expression cogitationis poenam nemo patitur is used in the field of criminal law to express that only a conduct, and not a simple thought, can constitute a crime. [1] [2] [3] This phrase originally appeared in the "Institutions" of the jurist Ulpian (170-228). Later, it appeared in the Digest, a compilation of Roman legal texts carried out by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian in the sixth century[ citation needed ].
Its translation would be "no one can be punished for their thoughts". According to this, thinking about stealing something is not punishable, while committing a robbery is. This principle of Roman law assumes that no thought or desire of a human being can be a criminal, until this manifestation of thought or desire is externalized, causing unjust conduct that causes damage to a protected legal asset. [4] [5]
The dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) features a totalitarian superpower in which this legal principle is rejected, and there is even a "Thought Police" that fights "thoughtcrime":
We are not interested in those stupid crimes that you have committed. The Party is not interested in the overt act: the thought is all we care about.