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 suffers a personal injury, the respondent 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.
