Criminal Law is a branch of Public Law that regulates the exercise of criminal power by the state. The penal power is the power of the state to punish the violators of the law by imposing penalties against specific wrongdoings. The statutory bodies responsible for this are provisioned by the Constitution of each country.

Criminal laws vary greatly between states, as each state has its own values and beliefs in terms of what constitutes a crime and what an appropriate punishment is.

Some points worth noting in terms of criminal law are:

• Criminal law is a system of law based on the principle of guilt. This means that one can only be convicted of a crime if proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
• Criminal law protects the rights of the accused. These rights include the right to a fair trial, the right to an attorney, and the right not to incriminate oneself.
• Criminal law is an important tool for achieving social justice. Through criminal law, the state can punish those who have broken the laws, and protect the victims of crime.

Criminal Law – Division

Criminal Law is divided into two categories:

• The Substantive Criminal Law which defines what acts are considered crimes and what penalties should be imposed for their commission.

• And the Criminal Procedure, which regulates the competence of the statutory bodies of the State and the procedure by which these bodies confirm the guilt of the accused and impose the criminal sanction on a perpetrator of a crime.

Substantive Criminal Law

Substantive Criminal Law includes the rules that define what acts are considered crimes. For an act to be considered a crime, the following criteria must be met:

• Legislative provision: The act must be prohibited by law. This means that the act must be expressly or impliedly prohibited by law.
• Objective evidence: The act must have objective characteristics, such as the act per se (act, omission, and dereliction of duty), the place, the time, the manner, the means, the results, etc.
• Subjective evidence: The offender must have the mental state required to commit the crime, which may be willful misconduct, dolus eventualis (legal intention) or negligence.

Substantive Criminal Law also includes the rules that define the penalties imposed for the commission of a crime. These sanctions can be criminal (which are imposed by the state) or non-criminal (which are imposed by other bodies) such as the administrative authorities or private bodies.

Criminal Procedure

The Criminal Procedure regulates the procedure for imposing the criminal penalty. This process includes the following stages:

• Preliminary investigation: The preliminary investigation is the first stage of the criminal process, during which the offense is investigated and the evidence to prosecute the offender is collected.
• Criminal prosecution: Criminal prosecution is the process by which the state asks the court to punish the perpetrator of the crime.
• Trial: Trial is the process in which the court examines the facts of the case and decides the guilt or innocence of the accused.
• Execution of sentence: Execution of sentence is the process by which the decision of the court is implemented.

Purpose of the Criminal Law

The purpose of Criminal Law is to protect the legal goods of the society, such as life, physical integrity, property, liberty, democracy etc. Criminal Law seeks to prevent the commission of crimes, punish the perpetrators of crimes, and restore social order. At the same time, the purpose of Criminal Law is to protect individual liberties and prevent arbitrary exercise of power.

The Importance of Criminal Law

Criminal Law is a crucial branch of law aiming to protect society from crime and is necessary to maintain safety and order.