Law

CRIMINAL LAW – DEFINITION AND GENERAL TERMS

Criminal law is one of the great branches of law, being made up of those rules that sanction non-compliant and incompatible behaviors with social values ​​and relationships, as they are provided and protected by law.

If you want to learn more about the subject and general notions of criminal law, here we have prepared a summary for you with the main information.

Content

  1. What is criminal law and what does it deal with?
  2. The most important general notions in criminal law
    1. Classification of crimes in criminal law
    2. Guilt in criminal law
  3. What is criminal procedural law and what is the connection with criminal law?

1. What is criminal law and what does it deal with

There is no unanimously accepted definition of criminal law, but all those promoted retain the specific features of this branch of law in terms of object and purpose.

Thus, criminal law can be defined as the system of legal norms that regulate social defense relations by prohibiting as crimes, under specific sanctions called punishments, dangerous acts for social values, in order to defend these values, either by preventing crimes or by the application of punishments to those who commit them.

Therefore, criminal law aims to defend essential social values ​​against crimes.

2. The most important general notions in criminal law

Criminal law works with a wide variety of notions. Among the most important are, however, that of crime and guilt, standing at the foundation of this branch of law.

2.1 Classification of crimes in criminal law

Crime is one of the most important elements of criminal law. According to the Criminal Code, the crime is the deed provided by the criminal law, committed with guilt, unjustified, and imputable to the person who committed it. A criminal defense lawyer is a person who deals with such legal cases.

The characteristics of the crime that emerge from the above have multiple importance, given that:

– depending on these, criminal acts can be differentiated from extra-criminal acts;
– depending on the finding of all the features, a deed is considered a crime or not, so it will attract criminal liability or not.

According to the Criminal Code,Special Part, crimes are classified into several categories as follows:

– crimes against the person;
– crimes against patrimony;
– crimes regarding the authority and the state border;
– crimes against the administration of justice;
– corruption and service crimes;
– forgery crimes;
– crimes against public safety;
– crimes that affect some relationships regarding social coexistence;
– electoral crimes;
– crimes against national security;
– crimes against the fighting capacity of the armed forces;
– crimes of genocide against humanity and war crimes.

In addition to those found in the Criminal Code, acts that can constitute crimes are also provided for in special laws that concern various specific fields.

2.2 Guilt in criminal law

Doctrinally, guilt is the subjective element of the crime, which represents the mental attitude that the perpetrator has towards the deed provided by the criminal law and the consequences of its commission.

Guilt is important because the deed constitutes a crime only if it was committed with the form of guilt provided by the criminal law.

Guilt exists when the deed is committed with intent, out of fault, or with an exceeded intent.

Thus, the forms of guilt are:

– direct intention– when the perpetrator foresees the result of his deed, following its occurrence by committing that deed;
– indirect intention– when the perpetrator foresees the result of his act and, although he does not follow it, accepts the possibility of its occurrence;
– fault with foresight– when the perpetrator does not foresee the result of his act, although he should have foreseen it (the driver does not reduce the speed around a group of people and causes an accident. He foresees the possibility of an accident, but does not accept the result and considers it unfounded that will not occur).;
– simple fault without provision– when the perpetrator does not foresee the result of his act, although he should and could have foreseen it (a pedestrian crosses an unmarked place and is hit by a car).

The exceeded intention exists when the deed consisting of intentional action or inaction produces a more serious result, which is due to the fault of the perpetrator. For example, a person wants to hit another person, but the blows cause his death. As a result, the perpetrator only intended to hit the person, not to kill him.

3. What is criminal procedural law and what is the connection with criminal law?

Within the unitary legal system, the criminal branch has close ties with the other branches of law, the strongest being, however, with criminal procedural law.

Substantive criminal law is not immediately applicable. This can only be achieved through the rules of criminal procedure, which, in turn, would not be applicable in the absence of criminal law. Therefore, an interdependent link is created between the two branches of law.

The criminal provisions establish the facts that constitute crimes, the punishments and the criminal liability of the perpetrators, and the criminal procedure establishes the manner of holding the guilty accountable.

In conclusion, criminal law is the branch of law that deals with and aims to defend social relations, achieving its objective by establishing punishments, but also by holding accountable those who violate these norms.

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