Meaning Of Crime And Nature Of Criminal Law Flashcards
Section 2 of the Criminal Code, Schedule to the Criminal Code Act
It doesn’t define the word crime, it defines offence as “An act or omission which renders the person doing the act or making the omission liable to punishment
under this Code, or under any Act, or law”
S1(1) Criminal Law of Lagos State
An act or omission which renders the person doing the act or making the omission liable to punishment
or other measures under this Law, or under any other Law or Regulation
S1(2) Criminal Law of Lagos State
“Offence” may be used interchangeably with “crime”
Adolphos Karibi-Whyte
Crime is used to describe the disapproval or condemnation of society with respect to a particular standard of conduct
Critique: Is societal disapproval or condemnation alone determinant of whether a conduct is made a crime by
law?
Adeyemj defined a crime from what perspective
He indicated the criteria that formed determinants of whether a conduct is made a crime by law
Adeyemi’s definition of a crime
An act or omission which amounts, on the part of the doer or omitter, to a disregard of the fundamental values of a
society thereby threatening and /or affecting the life, limb, reputation and property of another or other citizen(s), or
the safety, security, cohesion and order (be this political, economy, or social) of the community at any given time to
the extent that it justifies society’s effective interference through and by means of its appropriate legal machinery
The key features of Adeyemi’s definition should guide the legislature’s choice in determining
acts or omissions worthy of criminalization
(a) The need for consciousness or deliberation in the act or the omission and the appreciation of the
consequences of the act or omission signified by the word “disregard”;
(b) The requirement that the act or omission must be a disregard for the fundamental values of society
suggest the need for harmony between the criminal law and moral/cultural values- Note however the
Report of the Wolfenden Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution 1957;
(c) The definition addressed the concern that the criminal law should not be an instrument of criminalising
a conduct merely because it is immoral or against cultural or religious values by demanding in addition
that the prohibited act or omission must threaten or affect the life, limb, reputation and property of
another or other citizen(s), or the safety, security, cohesion and order (be this political, economy, or
social) of the community ( this aspect emphasizes the Harm Principle popularised by John Stuart Mills
(d) The requirement that there must be justification for society’s effective interference through and by means of its
appropriate legal machinery emphasizes the need for a rational basis for criminalisation.
What are the criteria advanced by Adeyemi which should be satisfied before the decision to criminalize an act or
omission can be taken
(i) the act or omission must be ethically condemnable;
(ii) the ultimate sanction backing its legal prohibition must be likely to be effective;
(iii)the people likely to perform the act or make the omission should be capable of being deterred by the
threat of sanction;
(iv)the sanction or punishment must be profitable to the offender; and
(v) offence must be capable of precise definition.
Distinctions between crimes and civil wrongs
(a) Civil wrongs are redressed by the wronged individual while crime is redressed by the State. Not all crimes are
prosecuted by State and sometimes a fiat may be granted to enable private person to prosecute. Some crimes also
constitute civil wrongs like assault which the wronged person may sue for redress without waiting for state authority
(b) Crimes attract punishment while civil remedies attract damages and compensation. Objective of the criminal law has
expanded beyond punishment. In addition to or in lieu of punishment in criminal cases, courts award compensation,
restitution, and other disposition methods that are not focused on punishment of the offender such as community
service orders, rehabilitation, and correctional orders- section 15(2) & (3) Criminal Law of Lagos
(c) Civil wrongs violate private rights while crimes are public wrongs. Most crimes also affect private rights but may
assume the status of public wrongs when its nature and gravity is such that the criminal law intervenes to protect the
public.
(d) The standard of proof in criminal cases is beyond reasonable doubt while in civil cases it is proof based on balance
of probabilities
Criminal Law and criminal procedure law
Criminal Law imposes criminal liability and punishment for any act or omission that violates its
prohibitions.
Criminal Procedure Law is concerned with the rules governing the investigation, prosecution,
adjudication, and punishment of offences.
It includes procedural rules protecting the interest of victims of crime, the rights of defendants and rules governing the imposition of punishments.
Criminal procedure in Nigeria is regulated in
federal courts by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act
2015 (ACJA)
in the States by the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws and Criminal Procedure Laws
of the States, Rules of Court, and Practice Directions.
Section 2(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos states that the purpose of the law is:
▪ (a) promote an orderly society;
▪ (b) foster collective obligations and duties towards the preservation and protection of life and property including
public property;
▪ (c) forbid and deal with conduct(s) that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflict(s) or threaten(s) substantial harm to
individual or public interests;
▪ (d) subject to public control, persons whose conducts indicate that they are disposed to committing offences;
▪ (e) safeguard conduct that is without fault from condemnation as criminal;
(f) give fair warning of the nature of the conduct declared to be an offence; and
(g) differentiate on reasonable grounds between serious and minor offences
The guiding principles of Criminal Law is
Section 3(1) Criminal Law of Lagos
The guiding principles underlying the Law are —
•(a) the need to balance the protection of private rights and public interest;
•(b) the interest of justice; and
•(c) the need to ensure that the sentence prescribed for an offence serves any of the following purposes:
• (i) rehabilitation;
• (ii) restoration;
• (iii) deterrence;
• (iv) prevention; and
• (v) retribution
What are the international law sources of Criminal law?
- Provisions of treaties
- Soft laws
Talk about domestication of treaties in the Nigerian context of Criminal Law
Section 12 of the Constitution provides for domestication of treaties. E.g. National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency Act (NDLEA Act) was enacted in 1989 to implement Nigeria’s obligation under the United
Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 1988.
