2 Principal Offender

The principal offender is the person whose own conduct fulfils the offence's definition — the actus reus is his (the shooter in murder; the taker in theft). Refinements to master:1. The immediate/actual perpetrator — the hand that acts, even if a tool intervenes (pulling the trigger through a mechanism);2. Co-principals — several jointly executing (the two who stab together; the gang that robs together — joint principalship: each liable as principal for the cooperative execution; the "joint liability for a common criminal plan" doctrine of Subcontinental law — the Indian BarendraKumar Ghosh case's illustration: the man who stands guard at the door during a fatal robbery is himself the murderer);3. Principal by procuration — perpetration-by-means: the person who acts through an innocent agent (below) is treated as the principal though another's body moved — the poisoner who tricks the nurse into administering the dose;4. The principal's mental element is the offence's own mens rea — full liability as defined.Nepali law: the Code's provisions on joint commission (offences committed jointly by several persons — liability of each as principal, with sentencing sensitivity to individual roles) — describe by principle, not invented sections.