Is Voluntariness a Word?

noun The quality or state of being voluntary; spontaneousness; specifically, the quality or state of being free in the exercise of one's will.

What does voluntariness mean?

In law and philosophy, voluntariness is a choice being made of a person's free will, as opposed to being made as the result of coercion or duress.

What does voluntariness mean in law?

According to the criminal law, a crime requires voluntariness or, in other words, a muscular contraction that is willed. Only fully willed actions can incur criminal liability, and without voluntariness no actus reus - and so also no crime - can be said to occur.