Criminal law is a body of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging, and trial of suspected persons, and fixes penalties and modes of treatment applicable to convicted offenders. Here are some of the characteristics of criminal law:
-
General: Criminal law is binding to all persons who reside in the jurisdiction where the law is enacted.
-
Territorial: Criminal law is binding to all crimes committed within the jurisdiction where the law is enacted.
-
Prospective: Criminal law can only punish an act committed after its effectivity.
-
Harm to society: Criminal law applies when a wrong harms society, as opposed to only individuals.
-
Elements: Crimes can be broken down into elements, which the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Criminal elements are set forth in criminal statutes, or cases in jurisdictions that allow for common-law crimes. Every crime has at least three elements: a criminal act, also called actus reus; a criminal intent, also called mens rea; and concurrence of the two.
-
Punishment: Criminal law fixes penalties and modes of treatment applicable to convicted offenders.
Criminal law is only one of the devices by which organized societies protect the security of individual interests and ensure the survival of the group. There are, in addition, the standards of conduct instilled by family, school, and religion; the rules of the office and factory; the regulations of civil life enforced by ordinary police powers; and the sanctions available through tort actions.
