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Criminal Law (Track This Article)

The term criminal law, or penal law, refers to the different bodies of rules in various jurisdictions that have been formulated to impose severe punishments on those who err or fail to comply with its statutes. Criminal punishment, as it is referred to, includes but is not limited to execution, loss of liberty, fines, or parole or probation for a particular duration.

The most significant difference between criminal law and civil law is that the former is imposed by the government whereas the latter is enforced by private parties.

Five objectives are considered to be the purpose of penal law. These are retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and restitution. However, as it has been observed, jurisdictions differ on the value to be placed on each factor.

Retribution

This is where criminals have pushed others to suffer or to face some disadvantage or difficult situation in their life. Therefore, the same is done on the criminals to give them a taste of their own medicine or to “balance the scales.”

Deterrence

This is to impose a significant punishment on somebody committing a criminal offence so that it serves as an example to the person who is being punished as well as others who tread similar lines of activities.

Incapacitation

This is a means to keeping the criminal in confinement so that he or she is kept away from the public. Usually, this is achieved through prison sentences of a specific duration.

Rehabilitation

This is an attempt to bring back a criminal into the civilized society by convincing the criminal that what he or she did was wrong.

Restitution

This is a victim-oriented concept, aimed at mending the damage inflicted on the victim by the offender. For example, those who embezzle will be required to pay back the money they had acquired through improper means.

International Criminal Law

International criminal law has been formulated to deal with criminal offenses that have been committed in another country other than the one of the accused person. The standard for international criminal law comes from the Nuremberg Trials, during post-World War II. These trials are where Nazi leaders were prosecuted for genocide and atrocities committed in Europe during the war. An international criminal court now exists in Hague, which was established in 1998, that is used to deal solely with such issues.

U.S. Criminal Law

In the United States, criminal prosecutions are initiated by an indictment issued by a grand jury or complaint issued by a judge. As per the fifth amendment of the U.S. constitution, felonies in the federal court require indictment. But federal requirements do not apply to many states, which have an array of various practices. In fact, the states of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C. do not use grand jury indictments at all.

The sixth amendment of the U.S. constitution empowers a criminal defendant the right to a speedy and public trial, in both federal and state courts, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime was committed, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have mandatory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel to manage his defense. Also, there is a provision in the U.S. criminal law that lets the defendant defend himself pro se and act as his own attorney, if desired.

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