criminal law - intro and article 1

CRIMINAL

LAW REYES

Criminal law

-is that branch or division of law which

defines crimes,

treats of their nature, and

provides for their punishment

WHAT IS A CRIME?

A crime is an act committed or omitted in

violation of a public law forbidding or

commanding it.

WHAT IS THE RATIONALE FOR CRIMINAL LAW?

-Two theories justify criminal law:

relative and

absolute.

The relative theories of

punishment are:

(1)prevention, or to prevent the offender from further offending;

(2) public self-defense, or the right of the State to repel an attack threatening its existence;

(3) reformation;

(4) deterrence or to terrify others; and

(5)exemplarity, penal justice is law teaching by example.

The absolute theory

is that punishment is an act of retributive

justice to which reformation and example

are incidental. Hegel says that

punishment is for the negation of a

negation, or an effort to annihilate the

wrong in its effort to annihilate the right.

WHO HAS THE POWER TO PUNISH CRIMES?

The State has the authority, under its

police power, to define and punish crimes

and lay down the rules of criminal

procedure (People v. Santiago)

WHAT IS THE LIMITATION OF THE POWER

OF THE LAWMAKING BODY TO ENACT

PENAL LEGISLATION?

Must be general in application.

Must not partake of the nature of an ex

post facto law.

Must not partake of the nature of a bill of

attainder.

Must not impose cruel and unusual

punishment or excessive fines.

WHAT IS AN EX POST FACTO LAW? Makes criminal an act done before the passage of the law

and which was innocent when done, and punishes such an act;

Aggravates a crime, or makes it greater than it was, when committed;

Changes the punishment and inflicts a greater punishment than the law annexed to the crime when committed;

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;

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

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.

WHAT IS A BILL OF ATTAINDER?

A bill of attainder is legislative act which

inflicts punishment without trial. Its essence

is the substitution of a legislative act for a

judicial determination of guilt.

WHAT IS A BILL OF ATTAINDER?

A bill of attainder is legislative act which

inflicts punishment without trial. Its essence

is the substitution of a legislative act for a

judicial determination of guilt.

The rationale is that “No person shall be

held to answer for a criminal offense

without due process of law.” (Sec. 14, Art.

3, Philippine Constitution)

WHAT ARE THE

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED? All persons shall have the right of a speedy

disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative bodies.

No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law.

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 be released 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.

WHAT ARE THE

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED?

Excessive bail shall not be required.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed innocent until guilty, 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 the has been duly notified and his failure to appear is unjustifiable.

WHAT ARE THE


Any persons under investigation for the

commission of an offense shall have the

right to be informed of his right to remains

silent and to have competent and

independent counsel preferably of his

own choice.

If the person cannot afford the services of

counsel, he must be provided with one.

WHAT ARE THE


These rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence of counsel.

No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free will of shall be used against him. Secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention are prohibited.

Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section 17 hereof shall be inadmissible in evidence against him.

WHAT ARE THE


Excessive fines shall not be imposed, not cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment inflicted.

No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. If an act is punished by law and an ordinance, conviction, or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act.

Free access to the courts and quasi-judicial bodies and adequate legal assistance shall not be denied to any person by reason poverty.

Rights may be waived and

non-waivable rights

Certain rights may be waived [Right of the

accused to confrontation and cross-

examination] however, some acts are non-

waivable, such as the right to be informed of

the nature and cause of the accusation

against him. This is true because, some rights

involve public interest, and as such may be

affected, it could not be waived for the

general benefit as against to rights that can

be waived which are personal in nature.

WHAT ARE THE

CHARACTERISTICS OF CRIMINAL LAW? GENERAL: That criminal laws are binding on all persons who

live or sojourn in the Philippine territory.

a. Foreigner criminals are liable within the Philippines if they commit a crime while living or sojourning in Philippine territory.

b. Even foreign military employees, can be held liable, so long as there isn’t an express legislation holding otherwise.

c. The Revised Penal Code, however, is not applicable when the military takes cognizance of the case, since the accused will instead be subject to a court martial. A case before a court-martial is a bar to another prosecution for the same offense, this invokes the principle of double jeopardy.

d. Offenders of war crimes are triable under a military commission, which has jurisdiction so long as a technical state of war continues. This includes the period of an armistice, or military occupation, up to the effective date of a treaty of peace.

EXCEPTIONS?

In instances provided for in “treaties and

laws of preferential application,” and

“principles of public international law and

to treaty stipulations.”

EXAMPLES? a. Treaties: Bases Agreement of 1947 between the

United States and the Philippines.

b. Law of Preferential Application: RA. 75, in favor of diplomatic representatives and their domestic servants.

c. Principles of Public International Law: Sovereign immunity, which include:

1. sovereigns and other chiefs of state, and

2. ambassadors, ministers plenipotentiary, ministers resident and charges d’affaires. [consuls, vice-consuls and other commercial

TERRITORIAL That criminal laws undertake to punish crimes committed within

Philippine territory. WHAT DOES THE PHILIPPINE TERRITORY INCLUDE? Philippine territory includes the Philippine archipelago, including its atmosphere, its interior waters, and maritime zone.

EXCEPTIONS? See Article 2 PROSPECTIVE: That criminal laws cannot make an act punishable in a manner in which it was not punishable when committed. (Art. 366 of the Revised Penal Code) EXCEPTIONS?

Whenever a new statute dealing with crime establishes conditions more lenient or favorable to the accused, but not if: a. The new law is expressly made inapplicable to pending actions or existing causes of action. b. The offender is a habitual criminal

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF

REPEAL OF PENAL LAW?

When repeal makes the penalty lighter in the new law, the new law shall be applied, except when (1) the new law is expressly made inapplicable to pending actions or existing causes of actions or (2) where the offender is a habitual criminal

When repeal imposes a heavier penalty, the law in force at the time of the commission shall be applied.

When repeal totally repeals the existing law so that the act is no longer punishable, the crime is therefore obliterated. That criminal laws undertake to punish crimes committed within Philippine territory.

HOW ARE PENAL LAWS CONSTRUED?

Penal laws are strictly construed against

the government and liberally in favor of

the accused, this is invoked only when the

law is ambiguous. This is known as the

doctrine of pro reo.

In interpretation of the provisions of the

Revised Penal Code, the Spanish text is

controlling, because it [the Revised Penal

Code] was approved in its Spanish text.

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE REVISED PENAL CODE?

The Revised Penal Code is a revision of the old Penal Code of 1887 (14 July, 1887 to 31 December, 1931) and inclusion into the draft of other penal laws related to it. The Revised Penal Code does not embody the latest progress of criminal science, as the results of the application of advanced and radical theories “still remain to be seen.” The committee formed to revise the old Penal Code included Anacleto Diaz as chairman, with members Quintin Paredes, Guillermo Guevara, Alex Reyes and Mariano de Joya, deriving it’s authority from Administrative Order 94 of the Department of Justice.

HOW IS THE REVISED PENAL CODE DIVIDED?

The Revised Penal Code includes Book 1,

basic principles affecting criminal liability

(Arts. 1-20), and the provisions on

penalties including criminal and civil

liability (Arts. 21-113). Book 2, defines

felonies and their corresponding

penalties, classified and grouped under

fourteen titles (Arts. 114-365).

WHAT ARE THE TWO THEORIES

IN CRIMINAL LAW?

The classical theory that holds that the

basis of criminal liability is the human free

will and the purpose of the penalty is

retribution.

The positivist theory that holds that crime is

essentially a social and natural

phenomenon and which subdues man

occasionally causing him to do wrong,

contrary to his volition.

BOOK ONE

General Provisions Regarding

the Date of Enforcement and

Application of the Provisions of

this Code, and Regarding the

Offenses, the Persons Liable and the Penalties

ART. 1. DATE OF EFFECTIVITY.

This code shall take effect on the first day

of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-

two.

WHEN DID THE REVISED PENAL CODE TAKE

EFFECT?

The Revised Penal Code (Act No. 3815)

took effect on 01 January, 1932