Criminal Law

Criminal Law is the body of law that defines criminal offences, regulates the apprehension, charging, and trial of suspected persons, and fixes punishment for convicted offenders.

The offences that involve criminal law, a part of public law, are those against the state. Criminal law presupposes a rule of law in defining acts as criminal. In other words, however immoral or unjust an act may be thought to be, it is not a crime unless the law says it is one. Under the common law, custom and precedent define criminal action; in countries or states where a legal code exists, statute defines it. Criminal law usually prohibits the trial of a person a second time for the same offence (double jeopardy) and contains statutes of limitations – that is, limits for the period during which charges may be made.

A crime is usually defined as a voluntary act or omission, in conjunction with a given state of mind. Acts committed during fits of epilepsy or while sleepwalking are involuntary and thus do not qualify as crimes. Mental disorders are also widely recognized as limiting responsibility for acts otherwise regarded as criminal. Other factors entering into the determination of criminal intent are self-defence, defence of other persons, protection of property, and enforcement of the law. The law of most countries recognizes that the use of force, while not justifiable, may be excused if the defendant believed that the use of force was necessitated by special circumstances.

Criminal acts include arson, rape, treason, aggravated assault, theft, burglary, robbery, and murder. Other concerns of criminal law are conspiracy, a rather broad term that denotes agreement between two or more individuals to commit a crime, and attempt. The definition of attempt varies from one legal system to another, but essentially it is preparation for criminal action that has gone beyond a legally defined point.

Important differences exist between the criminal law of most English-speaking countries and that of other countries. The criminal law of England and the United States derives from the traditional English common law of crimes and has its origins in the judicial decisions embodied in reports of decided cases. England has consistently rejected all efforts toward comprehensive legislative codification of its criminal law; even now there is no statutory definition of murder in English law. Some Commonwealth countries, however, notably India, have enacted criminal codes that are based on the English common law of crimes.

The criminal law of the United States, derived from the English common law, has been adapted in some respects to American conditions. In the majority of the U.S. states the common law of crimes has been repealed by legislation. The effect of such statutes is that no person may be tried for any offence that is not specified in the statutory law of the state. But even in these states the common-law principles still exist, for the criminal statutes are often simply codifications of the common law, and their provisions are interpreted by reference to the common law.

In Europe the criminal law of modern times has emerged from various codifications. By far the most important were the two Napoleonic codes of 1808 and 1810. The German codes of 1871 (penal code) and 1877 (procedure) provided the models for other European countries.

In the last few decades the movement for codification and law reform has made considerable progress everywhere.

Modern criminal law has been affected considerably by the social sciences, especially with respect to sentencing, legal research, legislation, and rehabilitation.