In
law, ''sciens'', the Latin word for "knowlingly",
describes a state of mind. It refers to knowledge of a fact, usually of a specific risk. It is usually
pleaded by way of
defence. For example, where a
claimant
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of t ...
suffers a
personal injury, the
respondent
{{unreferenced, date=February 2012
A respondent is a person who is called upon to issue a response to a communication made by another. The term is used in legal contexts, in survey methodology, and in psychological conditioning.
Legal usage
In ...
to the claim may aver that the claimant was aware of the risk when they undertook their course of conduct. Clauses in
contracts which require participants in dangerous sports to acknowledge certain risks in the sport are usually drafted to set up a potential ''sciens'' defence.
Extent of the defence
In most countries, the defence is a limited one, and is ordinarily only effective (if at all) where the claimant, despite being ''sciens'', still undertakes the risk. The
common law says that "''volenti non fit injuria''" ("free will does not make an injury"). In such instances, the claimant is said to be ''
volens'' (voluntarily assuming the risk), and merely being ''sciens'' alone is normally insufficient. For example, if the claimant had to exit a grocery store, and there was a sign warning of a wet floor by the exit, it is not usually a defence to say that the claimant knew of the risk of the wet floor, if the claimant had no other way to leave the store, and thus had to walk across the slippery surface in any event.
References
{{Reflist
Latin legal terminology