Criminal law

Public criminal law

Definition of crime

Criminal law is concerned with conduct which the state considers should be punished, whereas civil law is concerned with private rights .a crime may be regarded as a public wrong; but conduct which is harmful to the public is not necessarily criminal.

Sources

(a) Common law: many criminal offences were originally created by the common law courts and the definitions of some of these offences are to be found even today only in case law, e.g. murder, involuntary manslaughter

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The law of torts

The word ‘tort’ derives from the Latin tortus, meaning crooked or twisted. In English law we use the word tort to denote certain civil wrongs as distinct from criminal wrongs.

The nature of a tort

First, we must examine the distinctions between (a) a tort and a crime, (b) a tort and a breach of contract, and

A crime: The object of criminal proceedings is primarily punishment. The object of proceedings in tort is not punishment, but compensation or reparation to the plaintiff for the loss or injury caused by the defendant, i.e. damages. Thus, if A steals B’s coat, there is (i) a crime of theft, and (ii) trespass to goods (a tort) and conversion (also a tort). If X assaults Y, there is both a crime and a tort

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Criminal law
Public criminal law
Definition of crime
Criminal law is concerned with conduct which the state considers should be punished, whereas civil law is concerned with private rights .a crime may be regarded as a public wrong; but conduct which is harmful to the public is not necessarily criminal.
Sources
(a) Common law: many criminal offences were originally created by the common law courts and the definitions of some of these offences are to be found even today only in case law, e.g. murder, involuntary manslaughter.
(b) Textbooks: these are not sources, but certain early works- e.g. Coke Faster are accepted by the courts as authoritative of the law. Modern books are not authoritative but may be used persuasively by counsel and thus influence the courts.
(c) Statute: this is main source of law today .some statutes may merely amend common law offences, e.g. Homicide Act, 1957. Others may abolish earlier law and start afresh, e.g. Theft Act 1968.
(d) Subordinate legislation: statute may empower a minister or some other body, e.g. a local authority, to make rules, orders, or byelaws which may contain offences .if the minister exceeds the authority given by the statute he is said to have acted ultra vires and the rule will be invalid.

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