Types of Law
Criminal Law
o “Criminal Law governs crimes, including felonies and misdemeanors”.
o “The statutes and norms, the violation of which may subject the accused person to government prosecution”.
o In general, criminal law encompass (includes) those wrongs considered to be so serious as to threaten the welfare of the society.
Civil Law (common law)
o “A branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations (as opposed to criminal law).
o “It is that part of law with which the rules and enforcement of private or civil rights has distinguished from criminal law”.
o It is also called secular law; law that is not religious law and that is not military law or martial law.
Civil law is the most prevalent legal system in the modern world and the oldest in human history. The two other major legal systems in the world are common law and Islamic law. Civil law may be referred to as Roman law, Romano-Germanic law, or Continental civil law. In a civil suit, an individual who has been harm seeks personal compensation in court rather than criminal punishment through prosecution.
• Difference between Civil and Criminal Law by Ronald B. Standler
Although there is considerable overlap between criminal and civil law, there are important distinctions as well.
o In civil law, a private party (e.g., a corporation or individual person) files the lawsuit whereas in criminal law, the litigation is always filed by the government who is called the prosecution.
o In criminal law, a guilty defendant is punished by either confinement in a jail or prison or fine paid to the government or the death penalty. In contrast, in civil law, the defendant is never incarcerated and never executed.
o In criminal litigation, the burden of proof is always on the state whereas in civil litigation, the burden of proof is initially on the plaintiff.
Common Law
o “Laws that have evolved through custom and prior judicial decisions”. Common law offenses have been kept alive and interpreted by judicial decisions, which are an important part of American law today.
Intent
Intent is very essential in a crime. “Intent is that ingredient which shows that a person has done the crime willingly/non-willingly”. It is a mental element and in many cases, it is the critical factor in determining whether an act was or was not a crime. In addition, it may determine the degree of crime committed. There are two ways of committing crime; act of omission and act of commission.
• Act of Omission
“Act of omission is an action which a citizen bound to do: but failed to do it”. Omission is not performing an act that is usually done or expected to be performed by a ‘normal’ person. Like stopping at a scene of traffic accident if you are a medical professional to assist, or not stopping if you are the first person at the scene of an accident, which is a crime. It alone is not sufficient to constitute a crime. The law requires intent, i.e. a person may not be punished for his or her thoughts; action must be taken. For example, whether a killing is 1st degree murder or 2nd degree, it is up to the killer.
• Act of Commission
It is the direct act of an individual to commit a crime. i.e. he has done the crime. For example, he has killed a person.
The Intent Requirement
An act or omission of an act alone is not sufficient to constitute a crime (although it may constitute a tort). The law requires intent or mens rea - the mental element - to establish culpability. In many cases, intent is the critical factor in determining whether an act was or was not a crime. In addition, it may determine the degree of crime committed (for example, whether a killing is first or second degree murder).
Culpability
“It is the situation which caused to commit the crime”. Model Penal Code divides culpability into four mental states; “A person is not guilty of an offense unless he acted (i) Knowingly, (ii) Purposely, (iii) Recklessly, and Negligently, as the law may require, with respect to each material element of the offense”.
• A person does the crime knowingly, i.e. a person acts knowingly with respect to a material element of an offense when;
o He is aware that his conduct is of that nature or that such circumstances exist; and
o He is aware that his conduct will cause such a result.
He knows that he is going to commit a crime and it would be harmful for society and even for him but he does. For example, one does the murder, rape, assault, theft, burglary, etc.
• A person does the crime purposely, i.e. he has some type of purpose/motive to engage in criminal activity. A person acts purposely with respect to a material element of an offense when it is his conscious object to engage in such activity. For example, to get money, for mental/spiritual satisfaction, etc.
• A person does the crime recklessly, i.e. a person acts recklessly with respect to a material element of an offense when he consciously disregards that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. In this type; he has no intent to commit the crime. We can say that he is not aware about the crime. He learns about it after the commission of crime. For example, the company of criminal friends makes someone criminal when he adopts the manners of his company fellows. Such as drug addicts.
• A person does the crime negligently, i.e. it occurs because of actor’s failure to perceive the nature of some action. For example you not doze to a sick man whether you know that he will be dying. (This situation is almost same to the situation of recklessly).
So, these are the reasons for why one does the crime?
General Terms of Criminology
Treason
o “The act of betraying or otherwise attempting to overthrow the government to which one owes allegiance”.
o This is very serious offence.
Torts
o “It is the area of law referring to civil wrongs such as slander, automobile theft, or any other type of accident caused by negligence”.
o “Torts are civil acts for which the law gives redress, and include wrongs such as personal inquiries, both physical and mental; assault and battery; defamation of character; invasion of privacy; and illegal interference with the possession of land”.
Some actions suggest tress-passing on property and assault (offensive attack). They are crimes as well as torts.
Trial
o “Trial by the court and subsequently if proved guilty is sentenced or given punishment by the court”, i.e. prosecution.
Self Defense
o “A legal defense for using what ever force or reasonable means is necessary to protect oneself from violence or threatened violence”. It is permissible to use force to protect other persons or yourself when threatened by serious bodily harm or death.
Offender/Criminal
o “A person who commits an act of crime”.
Abnormal Criminal
o “A psychopath/Psychotic person who has a tendency toward crime”.
Accidental Criminal
o “One who commits criminal’s offense without intending to do so”.
Victim
o “It is the person who is the object of crime”.
Punishment
o “When criminal conduct crime and captured then he is charged punishment”.
o “The person committing the criminal act is charged by the court”.
Criminologist
o A professional who studies crime, criminals, criminal behavior, and efforts to regulate crime.
Classical Theorists
o Writers and philosophers who argued that punishment should fit the crime. The popularization of this school of thought led to the abolition of the death penalty and torture in some countries and generally to more humane treatment of criminals.
Free Will
o A philosophy advocating punishment severe enough for people to choose to avoid criminal acts. It includes the belief that a certain criminal act warrants a certain punishment without any variations.
Hedonism
o The belief that people choose pleasure and avoid pain.
Dualistic Fallacy
o In criminological studies, the assumption that a population has two mutually exclusive subclasses, such as criminals and non-criminals.
Retribution
o A punishment theory that contends that an offender should be punished for the crimes committed because he or she deserves it.
Revenge
o A punishment doctrine under which a person who violates the law should be punished in the same way the victim suffered.
Rehabilitation
o The rationale for reformation of offenders, based on the premise that human behavior is the result of antecedent causes.
Fornication
o From the Latin word fro brothel (fornix¬), meaning “unlawful sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons”.
Adultery
o Unlawful sexual intercourse between two persons who are married but not to each other is called adultery. If only one party involved in illicit sexual intercourse is married to another, that person commits adultery. In some jurisdictions the unmarried person may be charged with adultery; in others the crime applies only to one who is married to another.
“Prostitution may be our oldest profession”
Sodomy
Historically, a term that referred to both bestiality (intercourse between a human and an animal) and buggery (anal intercourse by a man with another man or with a woman) and that was called a crime against nature. In more modern statutes, the term is used primarily to refer to any type of sexual relations considered to be unnatural, including buggery and bestiality as well as oral sex.
Norms
o The rules or standards of behavior shared by members of a group or society and defined by the common expectations of the group with regard to the types of appropriate behavior.
Socialization
o The basic lifelong social process by which an individual is integrated into a social group by learning its culture, values, and social roles.
Social System
o The interrelationship of acts, roles, and statuses of the people who make up the social structure.
Folkways
o Patterns of acting that arise from unconscious habits or routine ways of doing things”. Folkways are the correct ways of doing things because they are the traditional customs, habits, and behavior of a given group, tribe, or nation.
Mores
The social norms that give a group or society its moral standards of behavior and that are considered essential to its preservation and welfare.
Assignment: - Take Any Major Crime from Literature on Criminology, Giving the Reference from Where You Have Taken it & Why That Particular Crime. Discuss it in the Light of Your Own Society, & From Your Personal Point of Vsiew.
Source:- (1)- Crime & Criminology – 8th Edition – By Sue Titus Reid
(2) - Lectures Delivered by Mam Khizra Aslam
(Best of Luck)
