Introductory Concepts Flashcards
That 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
What are the source of Philippine Criminal Law?
- The Revised Penal Code (Act No. 3815) and its amendments.
- Special Penal Laws passed by the Philippine Commission, Philippine Assembly, Philippine Legislature, National Assembly, the Congress of the Philippines, and the Batasang Pambansa.
- Penal Presidential Decrees issued during Martial Law.
What is this body of principles, usages and rules of action which do not rest for their authority upon any express and positive declaration of the will of the legislature, and which is not recognized in this country?
common law crimes
True or False
Unless there be a particular provision in the penal code
or special penal law that defines and punishes the act, even if it be
socially or morally wrong, no criminal liability is incurred by its commission.
(See U.S. vs. Taylor, 28 Phil. 599, 604)
True
True or False
Court decisions 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.
True
Who has the authority to define and punish crimes and to lay down the rules of criminal procedure?
The State under its police power
(People vs. Santiago, 43 Phil.
120, 124)
What are the limitations on the power of the lawmaking body to enact penal legislation?
The Bill of Rights of the 1987 Constitution imposes the following limitations:
- No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted. (Art. Ill, Sec. 22)
- No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law. (Art. Ill, Sec. 14[1])
A law which:
(1) makes criminal an act done before the passage of the law and which was innocent when done, and punishes such an act;
(2) aggravates a crime, or makes it greater than it was, when committed;
(3) changes the punishment and inflicts a greater punishment than the law annexed to the crime when committed;
(4) alters the legal rules of evidence, and authorizes conviction upon less or different testimony than the law required at the time of the commission of the offense;
(5) assumes to regulate civil rights and remedies only, in effect imposes penalty or deprivation of a right for something which when done was lawful; and
(6) deprives a person accused of a crime some lawful protection to which he has become entitled, such as the protection of a former conviction or acquittal, or a proclamation of amnesty. (In re: Kay Villegas Kami, Inc., 35 SCRA 429, 431)
ex post facto law
Congress is also prohibited from passing an act which would inflict punishment without judicial trial.
What do you call a legislative act which inflicts punishment without trial. Its essence is the substitution of a legislative act for a judicial determination of guilt? (People vs. Ferrer, 48 SCRA 382, 395)
Example:
Congress passes a law which authorizes the arrest and
imprisonment of communists without the benefit of a judicial
trial.
bill of attainder
Article III, Bill of Rights, of the 1987 Constitution provides for the following rights:
- All persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.
Sec. 16
Article III, Bill of Rights, of the 1987 Constitution provides for the following rights:
- No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law.
Sec. 14 (1)
Article III, Bill of Rights, of the 1987 Constitution provides for the following rights:
3. All persons, except those charged with offenses punishable by reclusion perpetua when evidence of guilt is strong, shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, or bereleased on recognizance as may be provided by law.
The right to bail shall not be impaired even when the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended.
Excessive bail shall not be required.
Sec. 13
Article III, Bill of Rights, of the 1987 Constitution provides for the following rights:
- In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until the contrary is proved, and shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to have speedy, impartial, and public trial, to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory process to secure the attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence in his behalf. However, after arraignment, trial may proceed notwithstanding the absence of the accused provided that he has been duly notified and his failure to
appear is unjustifiable.
Sec. 14 (2)
