Criminal Law Flashcards
Branch or division of law which defines crimes, treats of their nature, and provides for their punishment.
Criminal Law
An act committed or omitted in violation of a public law forbidding or commanding it.
Crime
Sources of Philippine Criminal Law
- Revised Penal Code
- Special Penal Laws
- Penal Presidential Decrees (Martial Law)
No _____________________ in the Philippines. Unless there is a provision in the law that defines and punishes an act, even if socially or morally wrong, __________________________. (Civil law country- law must be written)
common law crimes; there is no criminal liability
Court decisions are not sources of ________________, because they merely explain the meaning of, and apply, the law as enacted by the legislative branch of the government.
criminal law
Power to define and punish crimes is an exercise of police power. There is crime unless __________________________________. If there is no law punishing the act or omission, the court must dismiss the case now matter how wicked it may seem.
the act is defined and penalized by this Code or other laws
EX POST FACTO
a. Makes criminal an act done before passage of the law
b. Aggravates a crime/makes it greater than it was
c. Changes the punishment and inflicts greater punishment
d. Authorizes conviction with upon less or different testimony (lessens burden of proof)
e. Assumes to regulate civil rights & remedies only, in effect imposes penalty or deprivation of a right for something which when done was lawful.
f. Deprives accused of some lawful protection to which he has become entitled to (double jeopardy, amnesty)
Limitations on the Power of the Legislative to Enact Penal Legislation
No ______________ or bill of _____________ shall be enacted (Art II, Sec. 22)
ex post facto law; attainder
_________________ is also prohibited from passing an act which would inflict punishment without judicial trial, for that would constitute a bill of attainder.
Congress
_______________________ – Legislative act which inflicts punishment without trial. Substitutes legislative act for judicial determination of guilt.
Ex: Congress passes a law which authorizes the arrest and imprisonment of communists without the benefit of a judicial trial.
Bill of Attainder
No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without ___________________ (Art III, Sec 14 [1])
due process of law
Constitutional (Art. III, 1987 Constitution) and Statutory rights of the accused (Rule 115, Revised Rules of Court):
- Right to speedy, impartial, and public trial;
- Right to due process of law;
- Right to bail;
- Presumption of innocence;
- Rights against self-incrimination;
- Right against excessive fines and cruel and inhumane punishment;
- Right against double jeopardy;
Free access to courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate legal assistance; - Compulsory process to secure witnesses (statutory)
- Right to appeal in all cases allowed (statutory)
- Right to confrontation and cross-examination
- Right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation.
Can the accused waive their rights?
If they are personal rights, ______________________.
For example: Right to confrontation and cross-examination.
they can be waived
Can the accused waive their rights?
If they involve public interest, ____________________________.
For example: Right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation.
they cannot be waived
______________________ are not sources of criminal law, because they merely explain the meaning of, and apply, the law as enacted by the legislative branch of the government.
Court decisions
Power to define and punish crimes is an exercise of _______________. There is crime unless the act is defined and penalized by this Code or other laws. If there is no law punishing the act or omission, the court ________________________________________.
police power; must dismiss the case now matter how wicked it may seem
Characteristics of criminal law
Three (3) main characteristics of criminal law:
____________ – binding to all who live or sojourn in Philippine territory.
____________ – undertake to punish crimes committed within Philippine territory.
____________ – penal law cannot make an act punishable in a manner in which it was not punishable when committed. Crimes are punished under the laws in force at the time of commission (Art. 366, RPC)
General;
Territorial;
Prospective
Two Theories in Criminal Law
Basis of criminal liability is human free will and the purpose of penalty is retribution.
Classical theory
Two Theories in Criminal Law
Man is a moral creature with absolute free will to choose between good and evil, thereby, placing more stress upon the effect or result of the felonious act than upon the man.
Classical theory
Two Theories in Criminal Law
Endeavors to establish a mechanical and direct proportion between crime and punishment.
Scant regard to the human element.
Classical theory
Two Theories in Criminal Law
Man is subdued occasionally by a strange and morbid phenomenon which constrains him to do wrong, in spite of or contrary to his volition.
Positivist Theory
Two Theories in Criminal Law
Crime is essentially a social and natural phenomenon, it cannot be treated and checked by the application of abstract principles of law and jurisprudence; but rather through enforcement of individual measures in each particular case.
Positivist Theory
Art.3. Definitions. Acts and omissions punishable by law are _______________ (delitos).
Felonies