Criminal Law Development in the UK - Essay Example

Criminal law Introduction Criminal law is a branch of law that deals with crimes committed against the publicauthority1. Criminal code covers the crimes punishable by criminal law while procedural law deals with the prosecution process and the recommendations for punishments and sentencing under the criminal law2. Historically, the three broad categories of crimes covered by the criminal law included felonies, treason and misdemeanors. Criminal code has being extended to cover new forms of crime like organized crime, terrorism and money laundering which have been occasioned by the convergence of global economies and changes in both the global political and social structure. Features of criminal law Several legal scholars have identified numerous salient features which distinguish criminal law from civil and commercial law. Criminal law has been identified as a worthwhile in achieving a certain level of societal morality as well as an efficient mechanism of responding to wrongful acts. Criminal law mainly is legislated around the harm principle and the public order rather than private wrongs. Several aspects of criminal law whether from the crime committed point of view or the prosecution procedure are able to distinguish criminal law from other types of law from both non-legal perspective and legal perspective3. Crimes punishable under the criminal law are based on the actus resus that simply means a bad act and mens rea which simply is the bad mental state of an individual. Criminal law is irrelevant when other laws exist to punish the crime like the tort liability laws or when in the act of committing the crime there was no immoral intent like in the strict liability crimes that are punishable by other laws4. Purpose of criminal law Generally, the main purpose of criminal law is to regulate the behavior of the citizens of a particular country. Criminal law seeks to punish individuals who go against the limits and boundaries of societal morals through legal action against the offenders5. Criminal law includes statutory laws that are legislated by the federal, State or local governments and case laws also refereed as common laws and which exist from one generation to the other. Criminal law is also aimed at protecting the offender. The victims of the crime will usually desire some revenge hence they will have methods of preventing such harms to them in the future6. Usually, the law takes in to consideration their genuine concerns about the possibility of future injury to them from the same source. Historically, before many nations established organized judicial systems, the avenge of the injury or harm was left to the victim or other powerful persons who could protect the injured hence in modern economies and societies, the state has the duty to protect the offender from revenge as well as bring justice to the victim and protect the injured from any possible future harm from the same source7. Criminal law has a restoration function. In some criminal justice system, the position of the victim is usually considered during the trial hence the defendant may be required to pay fines as well as serve a period of time in prison or community service8. Every country has to have a justice system which is ideal to prohibit criminal acts which violate the public interests hence one of the purpose of the criminal law is deterrence of criminal acts through the punishments contained in the criminal code. The most effective mechanism to achieve deterrence is immediate punishment for offenders who are found guilty of criminal acts after the legal action9. Criminal law also can create general deterrence which many legal scholars have pointed out as a cost-benefit way of deterring people from creating crimes. General deterrence may require the population to be educated hence the public must be aware of what is criminal like parking in prohibited places or driving while drunk hence the principle of malum prohibito should be applied. According to malum in se, the public are deemed to be aware of what is morally wrong hence crimes like murder, assault and rape are punishable using this doctrine. Since it is impractical to achieve one hundred percent deterrence, criminal law also seeks to rehabilitate the offenders hence it entails imprisonment for a particular period of time or community service10. Criminal law is also aimed at retribution which is mainly achieving justice for the victims of the crime or their families. Some crimes like murder usually leave the dependants of the victim with a lot of stigma and depression hence public punishment by the State is seen as a form of mental relieve for those families and the victims of the crime11. Incapacitation is also another purpose of criminal law. Incarceration mainly involves stopping the offender from committing other crimes hence this is done through imprisonment for a particular period of time and rehabilitation of the offender while in prison. Criminal law establishes the standards of conduct which is the minimum acceptable behaviors in the society and also creates the courts which exist to punish the wrongful conduct through fines, sentencing and jail terms12. Should criminal law be abolished? Some critics of criminal law and abolitionist movements have argued that it should be abolished due to its punishments. According to critics, criminal law seeks to enforce certain authoritative moral standards that citizens must obey. Those in power and authority establish standards which disagree with the moral judgments of the majority of the citizens13. Another point postulated by the abolitionist movements is that conflicts in the society are inevitable hence private individuals will constantly find themselves in trouble with one another hence such conflicts and harm should be resolved by the particular individuals involved. Another issue which has being raised by the critics is that criminal law is aimed at “delivering pain” hence the legal punishments of crimes like murder can not repair the harm which was caused but instead bring extra pain in the society instead of reconciliation14. Criminal justice system The criminal justice mechanism usually involves several actors in delivering the justice to the victim and offender. The police have the duty to make the arrest of the alleged criminal offender but its may not always be the case since other forms of crime may be filed in the courts without police arrests being made. The prosecutors have the duty to make charge the offender in a court of law while juries decide whether to indict or not to indict the offender for the crime. The judges have the discretion to sentence or not to sentence the offender depending on the evidence which is adduced in the court of law. Some sentences have been imposed by legislations hence criminal law is becoming statutory where the judge follows the interpretations of previous precedents and statutes in making the judgment15. In making the judgment, the court should adhere to the reasonable doubt principle which is a subjective standard of establishing whether the alleged offender is guilty of the crime. For criminal trials, the highest standard of believe is the “beyond reasonable doubt” standard hence it is the burden of the prosecutor to prove before the trial court beyond any doubts that a crime has been committed by the offender in court and not the defense to prove the centrally. However, the defense may also be required by the trial judges to prove their defensive claims before the court chambers16. For a wrongful act to consist a crime, such act should be a bad act and the mental state of the offender of the must be guilty hence his acts must have caused harm to the victim. The mental state of the offender is usually considered in criminal trial hence the crime should be intentional. For instance, in case of State V. Smallwood, an HIV infected man raped three women and was charged with assault with the intention to kill but the court ruled that the man’s intention was rape even though he was aware of HIV status hence the prosecution failed to prove the assault with intention to kill charges. Examples of crimes punishable by criminal law Homicide is one of the crimes and includes murder which by common is the intent to kill or unlawful killing. Criminal homicide will constitute murder is it is committed intentionally or recklessly in accomplice with other associated crimes like rape, arson and kidnappings. 1st degree murders are committed for pecuniary gain, cruel motive, felony murder or by a convict under sentence or when the offender commits another murder at the same time. Manslaughter is also another crime which can be committed by heat of passion or involuntarily without the intent to kill hence there is little evidence on planning of the murder17. Rape is another crime which is punishable by common law. The punishments evolved from crimes of fornication and were traditionally considered a property crime. According to the modern standards on rape, the elements of rape no longer include force or resistance and have become gender neutral and have also included all the sex acts. Rape may both be a crime of violence as well as a sexual crime.18 Burglary which has been defined by the common law as the breaking and entering in the living house of another with the intent to commit a felony is also punishable by criminal law. Larceny which includes taking and disappearing with the personal belongings of other person with intention of permanently depriving the victim the ownership is also a crime punishable by criminal law. International criminal law Domestic criminal law covers the crimes committed within the territorial boundaries of a certain nation by and against the citizens of the country or visitors to the country while international criminal law extends beyond the territorial boundaries of the nation. Recent developments and legislations of international criminal law resulted to the enactment of the Rome statute which paved way for the creation of the international criminal court in 2002 which supplements the domestic justice system in providing justice to victims of gross atrocities like war crimes or crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity like genocide and mass displacement of population19. Conclusion Crime is a violation of the law which is injury to the public or any member of the public. Criminal law deals with wrongful acts or omissions injuring public interests. The main purpose of criminal law is to create societal standards of values, deterrence, and incapacitation of the offender and rehabilitate the offender. Some examples of crimes punishable by criminal law include murder, manslaughter, rape and battery. International criminal law is concerned with major atrocities like war crimes and crimes against humanity like genocides committed against citizens of member states of the International Criminal Court. Crimes punishable under criminal law have expanded to include global terrorism, money laundering and organized crime. Reference list: Maguire, R., Morgan, M and Reiner, R. The Oxford Handbook of Criminology.4th Edition. 2007. Oxford. Oxford University Press. Sanders, A., Young, R and Burton, M. Criminal Justice. 4th Edition. 2010. Oxford. Oxford University Press Omerod, D. Criminal Law. 12th Edition. Oxford. Oxford University Press.2008. Read More