Criminal law

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Criminal law, also known as criminal law, the legal system of a country comprises those legal norms that are forbidden by certain behaviors and associated with a penalty as a legal consequence. As a target of the criminal law applies in particular to the protection of certain goods, such as life and property and the safety and integrity of the state and elemental values ​​of community life. Possible punishments that are not practiced in all countries, include the fine, imprisonment, corporal punishment and as a serious form of the death penalty.

Criminal law is defined in most countries in the form of a separate Criminal Code and any further addition laws. Part of the criminal law in particular rules of law by which the offenses and their characteristics, type and severity of the associated penalties and responsible for the enforcement of criminal law institutions and their operations are defined. With regard to these aspects, the allowable penalties, the assessment of the criminal purpose, nature and scope of the underlying legal bases as well as the classification of criminal law in the legal system however, there are considerable differences between the legal systems of individual countries, which are the subject of comparative jurisprudence.

• 2.2.1 Tatsubjekt 2.2.1.1 Asian legal systems

• 2.3.1 Elements of the subjective Tatseite 2.3.1.1 Common law

• 2.3.2.1 Common law

• 2.3.3.1 Common law

Monographs

Criminal law of individual states or countries

• Criminal Law ( Germany ), see also: Criminal Code ( Germany )
• Criminal Law (Poland )
• Criminal Law ( Austria ), see also: Criminal Code ( Austria )
• Criminal Law ( Switzerland ), see also: Criminal Code ( Switzerland )
• Criminal Law (England and Wales)
• Criminal Law (France)
• Criminal Law (Italy )
• Criminal Law (Singapore )
• Criminal Law (Vatican City)

Interstate and international aspects of criminal law

• Criminal Law (European Union)
• International Criminal Law

General lessons

Structure of the offense

German legal system

The German criminal law science and its general doctrine of the criminal law is one of the most influential worldwide. The leading German textbooks are often translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. German criminal law science has been comprehensively rezipiert particularly in Spain, Latin America, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Poland, Greece and Turkey, " the sun never sets on German criminal law theory. "

According to this doctrine, a criminal offense is built up of three components:

Romanesque jurisdiction

The French Penal Code does not contain any information about the structure of criminal liability; this gap was filled by the legal doctrine by various approaches. The earliest approach differed solely by the criteria criminal offense and criminal offenders. The criterion of criminal offenders contained here about the sanity, the guilt and self-defense ( légitime défense ). From the mid-20th century approaches were victorious, the divested the offense as such for the first time. This classic teaching ( doctrine classique ) describes a three-part Tataufbau:

The personal liability of the perpetrator was not part of the structure of the offense. Later, some tests came on, personal responsibility, such as criminal responsibility or accountability, assigned to the subjective element; other hand, the existence of a fourth element, the élément injuste was considered part which should be recorded as the self-defense.

Common law

The systematization of the offense in common law is strongly influenced by procedural aspects. Even if the names can often be easily transferred in roughly corresponding features after the continental European system, its objective is not to create an ontology or Phänonemologie the offense, but to give a practical handle. Criminal behavior is therefore primarily of a offense that the state "beyond reasonable doubt " ( " reasonable doubt exclusive " ) must prove it. An offense actus reus and in turn consists of mens rea. The accused ( defendant ) must in turn provide evidence for a defense.

Socialist jurisdiction ( China)

With the long own Chinese legal tradition was broken at the beginning of the 20th century in favor of the reception of the German and Japanese law. It took the classic German design of the offense in fact, illegality and guilt. 1949 rejected the Communist Party of anything previously existing law and the previous doctrine. He was replaced by an embossed by the law of the Soviet Union division, which built on the basis of Marxism -Leninism. The four conditions of criminal liability are therefore:

In theory, this structure was not without criticism, especially in recent times; in particular, it is noted that Strafausschließungstatbestände fit better in the German three -piece construction. Nevertheless, the four-part structure of the paradigm applicable dar.

The law distinguishes the object of the deed between the concrete object of the offense ( action or object of attack, duixiang ) and the abstract object of protection ( keti ). The object of protection is a standalone feature in the event structure; the action object counts, however, to the objective circumstances. The traditional opinion describes as a protected object, the "protected by the criminal law, injured by the offense socialist society relations " ( shehui zhuyi shehui guanxi )

If all four conditions can be expected from a company harmful and therefore criminal offense. Exceptions to this rule can be understood as sub- cases of non- harmfulness society. The German division into illegality and guilt is not known; the cases they cover in the German legal system are discussed under the term " reason for the exclusion of criminal liability " ( Paichu fanzui de shiyou ).

Lenses Tatseite

Tatsubjekt

Asian legal systems

The objective Tatseite is covered in the laws of China, mainly by the objective circumstances ( fanzui Keguan fangmian ). Although the occupied Tatsubjekt according to the prevailing doctrine in China one 's own place in the Tataufbau, yet belongs to comparative law point of view but for objective Tatseite. Tatsubjekt are primarily individuals. Legal persons could not be traced to the reform of the Criminal Code (Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Xingfa, chStGB ). Since 1997, this is at least possible, if it is expressly provided for in the offense. The Chinese criminal law distinguishes between general and special offenses. General offenses can be committed by anyone; Special offenses only with certain characteristics of the offender, such as membership in the military.

Subjective Tatseite

Elements of subjective Tatseite

Common law

The subjective element is responsible is discussed in the laws of England and Wales under the heading of mens rea; the mens rea also contains the elements that are to be attributed according to German classification of debt. The three main forms of mens rea are intention, recklessness and negligence. Certain offenses require some of related elements of the objective Tatseite no subjective element, it is called strict liability before. The distinction between terms is elaborated little concise, which is due to the fact that the decision on the existence of mens rea in the judicial practice of the jury responsible.

Intent / intention and recklessness

Common law

The topos of intent in a broad sense are two types of mens rea assign: intention (intention) and recklessness ( recklessness ). The majority of English criminal offenses requires either an intent with respect to the success of the offense or at least recklessness for the success of entry. Neither intention nor recklessness are required by law or in the common law precisely defined, they also lack a precise definition to each other. Importantly, the distinction is only in so far as by s 1 of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981, the attempt is punishable only if the offender has intent to commit an offense, and for the exemption from punishment ( defense ) self-defense.

Subjective side of Fahrlässigkeitstat

Common law

The negligence, negligence, shall be treated in English law as a form of mens rea. A general legal definition of negligence is missing; at the statutory Offences is usually precisely controlled for each offense, which the negligence must be made without referring to the term for negligence. Common law offenses which are to be fulfilled by negligence, almost no longer exist. An important exception is manslaughter ( manslaughter '), for the realization of which large negligence ( gross negligence ) is sufficient.

Criminal behavior before Tatvollendung

Exclusion of criminal liability

See for the German legal system: justification, excuse, withdrawal, persons repentance, self- display; for the common law: defense

Limitation

See: Statute of Limitations

Amnesty, pardon

See: Amnesty, pardon

Groups of offenses

In continental European legal systems, the various categories of crime bordering on the concept of legal interest ( bien jurídico, surrounded giuridico ) from each other. At the same time offenses legitimize the protected legal interest. In the legal system of common law, the term is unknown. In his place are rather systematically less influential terms like invidual or public interest or harm or evil.

Given its central position so it may be surprising that so far there is no consensus on the precise definition of legal interest, as this is defined: as indispensable and therefore value-bearing functional units, as a legally protected interest, as a criminal in need of protection interest or as a value-bearing state. Accordingly, the concept has been criticized as little tangible or circular: " The legal protection has become a true Proteus, who immediately transforms under the hands of those who believe hold it in something else. " It is unclear, therefore, about, about the lack of a legal interest a criminal offense makes unconstitutional. Overall, the legal interest, therefore, its primary role to play in the interpretation of criminal offenses. Play a similar role in U.S. law with the terms and values ​​of the constitution.

After kriminologisch - comparative criteria can be distinguished:

• Malpractice
• Homicide
• Personal injury tort
• Freedom offense
• Ehrdelikt
• Intoxicants offense
• Legal peace offense
• Administration of justice offense
• Sexual offense
• Tax offense
• Certificate offense
• Of a crime against
• Traffic offense