Criminal Conduct

A crime is defined as such by law. This first principle of legality is the keystone of criminal law. The principle directs that laws defining offenses be clear and strictly interpreted. And it forbids the application of the law retroactively, meaning a law must have been in effect at the time the act was committed.

Legal systems traditionally do not allow double jeopardy, meaning prosecuting someone more than once for the same offense. It is possible at times for an individual to be tried for essentially the same act in two different jurisdictions, or areas of authority. In the United States a person may be tried for murder in a state court and later tried for the violation of the victim's civil rights in a federal court.

All systems of law have statutes of limitation, or laws that restrict the length of time within which legal proceedings may be brought against a person. Such statutes are enacted to protect against stale claims after evidence has been lost, memories have faded, or witnesses have died or disappeared. The periods vary depending on the seriousness of the offense, in German law, for instance the periods range from three months for petty misdemeanors to 30 years for crimes involving a life sentence. In many countries, including the United Stales, there is no statute of limitations for certain serious crimes such as murder.

Legal systems also define in what courts specific crimes will be prosecuted. In the United Slates such crimes as murder, arson, rape, burglary, robbery, and shoplifting are prosecuted in state or local courts. For a crime to be dealt with in a federal court, it must be an offense against federal law, or it must come to the federal court as the result of an appeal of a decision made in another court. Most governments claim jurisdiction over the acts of their own citizens even when these acts have occurred abroad. Therefore, most countries decline any obligation to surrender their citizens to the jurisdiction of other countries. This is called a refusal to extradite. Even within the United States one state may refuse to extradite an alleged criminal to another state for trial.

Ingredients of a Crime

It is generally agreed that the essential elements of a crime are voluntary action or failure to act and a certain state of mind. Failure to act includes not doing something an individual is required to do by law, such as file an income tax form or get a driver’s license before operating an automobile.

The mental element in a crime is that the person committing it usually acts purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently. There are, however, exceptions. Bigamy, for instance, may be committed unintentionally when both people believe that they are free to marry but one party has not yet actually received a divorce.

It has long been said that ignorance of the law is no excuse, and criminal law systems generally recognize this principle. It is no defense for a person to say he was unaware that what he did was against the law. Behind this is the supposition that criminal acts may be recognized as harmful and immoral by any reasonable adult. By contrast most countries recognize that an individual who acts in ignorance of the facts of his action is not criminally responsible. Hence, someone who takes another person’s goods, believing them to be his own, has not committed larceny because he lacks intent to steal. Any inconvenience he has caused the other person may, however, be a matter taken up in civil law.

It is generally recognized that persons suffering from mental defects are not responsible for their actions. Much controversy has arisen over the appropriate tests for determining responsibility in such cases. The insanity defense has come under close scrutiny in legal circles particularly since the attempted assassination of United States President Ronald Reagan in March 1981. The individual who committed the offense was found not guilty by reason of insanity and put in a mental institution. Since that time some states have revised their insanity-plea laws to allow for verdicts of “guilty, but insane,” instead of “not guilty on account of insanity”.

In most countries being drunk is not treated as a mental incapacity. Russian law is especially hard on those who have committed offences while under the influence of alcohol. In other nations, by contrast, such offenses have been dealt with relatively lightly.

The law recognizes that the use of even deadly force may be justified under some circumstances. Such special circumstances include cases of self-defense, including the use of force in defense of others, by law-enforcement agents, or in defense of property.

Find in the text the English equivalents for the following phrases:

1. уголовное преступление и гражданское правонарушение, 2. уголовное преследование, 3. установленное законодательством страны, 4. предумышленное убийство, 5. новые толкования существующих законов, 6. поправку отменили, 7. подозреваемые в совершении преступления, 8. принцип следования закону является краеугольным камнем уголовного права, 9. не допускается двойное наказание за одно и то же преступление, 10. закон об исковой давности (закон о давности уголовного преследования), 11. незначительные проступки, 12. пожизненное тюремное заключение, 13. многие страны требуют отправления правосудия…, 14. отказаться выдавать предполагаемого преступника, 15. лицо, совершающее преступление, действует целенаправленно, осознанно, неосторожно или халатно, 16. незнание закона не освобождает от ответственности, 17. люди, страдающие от умственных недостатков, 18. защита, построенная на невменяемости, подверглась тщательной проверке, 19. покушение на убийство, 20. состояние опьянения не считается недееспособностью.

Dwell on the following issues and answer the questions:

1. Give an example of an unlawful act which may be a criminal offence in one country and not in another.

2. Give an example of an unlawful act which can be both a criminal offence and a civil wrong.

3. Give an example of acts which are crimes in one country but not in another.

4. What acts are universally regarded as crimes?

5. What is the essence of the principle of legality?

6. What is double jeopardy?

7. Why do all systems of law have statutes of limitation?

8. Why do countries use refusal to extradite?

9. What is the difference between ignorance of the law and ignorance of the fact?

10. In what cases are insanity-plea laws applied?

11. Under what circumstances may force be justified?

Read the text and get ready to discuss it.

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