There is absolutely nothing new or unusual here. Intent has been an essential element in virtually every crime since the dawn of our legal system (and the English system before it).

If you run over someone with your car by accident, it's at worst manslaughter (and probably no crime at all). But if you did it intentionally it's murder. I could come up with examples like this literally all day.

Courts rule on intention all the time, as I understand it. That's pretty much their primary function; has been for centuries?