CRIMINAL LAW- NOTES

• Criminal Law


  That branch of public law that defines crimes, treats their nature and provides for their punishment
• Primary source


  • RA 3815. REVISED PENAL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES
  • Divided into three parts: Principles affecting criminal liability, Penalties which include civil and criminal liability, and Felonies defined by different cities
• Characteristics of Criminal Law


  • Generality - Penal laws govern everyone within the territorial jurisdiction of the state regardless of race, belief, sex or creed subject to certain exceptions
  • Territoriality - Penal laws are only effective within the territorial confines of one's jurisdiction
  • Prospectivity - Penal laws only take effect after its effectivity date
• Mala in se


  A crime or act that is inherently immoral such as murder, arson or rape
• Mala prohibita


  A crime or act which is wrong only because it is prohibited by statute even if the act is not necessarily immoral
• Felonies


  • Acts or omissions punishable by law, committed either by deceit (dolo) or by fault (culpa)
  • Deceit - Act performed with deliberate intent
  • Fault - Wrongful act results from imprudence, lack of foresight or lack of skill
• Elements of a Felony


  • There must be an act or omission
  • The act or omission must be punishable by the RPC
  • The act is performed or the omission is incurred by means of dolo (malice) or culpa (fault)
• Stages of Execution of Crimes


  • Consummated - All elements necessary for execution and accomplishment are present
  • Frustrated - Offender performs all acts of execution but crime does not occur due to causes independent of perpetrator's will
  • Attempted - Offender commences commission of felony but does not perform all acts of execution
• Justifying Circumstances


  • Self-defense (to self, relatives, or strangers)
  • Avoiding an evil or injury, provided certain conditions are met
  • Acting in fulfillment of duty or lawful exercise of right or office
  • Acting in obedience to a superior's lawful order
• Exempting Circumstances


  • Imbecile or insane person (unless during lucid interval)
  • Child 15 years old or under
  • Child above 15 but below 18 (unless acted with discernment)
  • Accident without fault or intention
  • Compulsion of irresistible force
  • Impulse of uncontrollable fear
  • Failure to perform act required by law due to lawful or insuperable cause
• Mitigating Circumstances


  • Privileged - Cannot be offset by aggravating circumstances

  Ordinary - May be offset by aggravating circumstances

  Mentioned under justifying and exempting circumstances (not attendant)

  Minority and old age

  No intention to commit so grave a wrong

  Sufficient provocation or threat from offended party

  Immediate vindication of grave offense

  Powerful impulse producing passion or obfuscation

  Voluntary surrender or confession

  Physical defect restricting means of action, defense, or communication

  Illness diminishing exercise of will power

  Analogous circumstances
• Aggravating Circumstances


  • Advantage taken of public position

  Crime committed in contempt or disregard of public authorities

  Crime committed with insult or disregard of respect due offended party

  Crime committed with abuse of confidence or obvious ungratefulness

  Crime committed in the palace of the Chief Executive, in presence of public authorities, or in a place of religious worship

  Crime committed at night, in uninhabited place, or by a band

  Crime committed on occasion of calamity or misfortune

  Crime committed with aid of armed men or persons ensuring impunity

  Accused is a recidivist

  Crime committed in consideration of price, reward, or promise

  Crime committed by means of inundation, fire, poison, explosion, etc.

  Crime committed with evident premeditation

  Crime committed with craft, fraud, or disguise

  Crime committed with treachery

  Crime committed after unlawful entry

  Crime committed with aid of persons under 15 or by means of motor vehicles, etc.

  Wrong deliberately augmented beyond what was necessary for commission of crime
• Alternative Circumstances


  • Relationship - Offended party is spouse, ascendant, descendant, sibling, or relative by affinity

  Intoxication - Mitigating if not habitual, aggravating if habitual

  Degree of instruction and education of the offender
• Penalties


  • Death (suspended by law)

  Life imprisonment

  Reclusion perpetua (20-40 years)

  Reclusion temporal (12-20 years)

  Prision Mayor (6-12 years)

  Prisión Correccional (6 months-6 years)

  Arresto Mayor (1 month-6 months)

  Destierro or bond to keep peace
• Primary source: 

  RA 3815. 

  REVISED PENAL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

  divided into three parts namely:

  1. Principles affecting criminal liability
  2. Penalties which include civil and criminal liability; and 
  3. Felonies defined by different cities 
• • GENERALITY Means that penal laws govern everyone within the territorial jurisdiction of the state regardless of race, belief, sex or creed subject to certain exceptions under international agreements. Exceptions are as follows: 
  • Treaty stipulations 
  • Principles of Public International law
  • Laws of Preferential Application 
  • TERRITORIALITY- Means that penal laws are only effective within the territorial confines of one’s jurisdiction— be it land, maritime, interior waters, and atmosphere. 
  • PROSPECTIVITY- Means that penal laws only take effect after its effectivity date. 
•  Mala in se 

  A crime or act that is inherently immoral such as murder; arson or rape.It is a conduct construed as sinful or inherently wrong by nature

  Mala prohibita

  A crime or act which is wrong only because it is prohibited by statute even if the act is not necessarily immoral. 
• STAGES OF EXECUTION OF CRIMES

  • CONSUMMATED
  • When all the elements necessary for its execution and accomplishment are present; 
  • FRUSTRATEDWhen the offender performs all the acts of execution, which would produce the felony as a consequence, but which, nevertheless, do not produce it by reason of causes independent of the will of the perpetrator
  • ATTEMPTED
  • When the offender commences the commission of a felony directly or overt acts, and does not perform all the acts of execution, which should produce the felony by reason of some cause or accident other than this own spontaneous desistance. 
• Mitigating Circumstances


  Lessens the penalty. It may be privileged or ordinary.
• Privileged mitigating circumstances


  • Cannot be offset by aggravating circumstances
• Ordinary mitigating circumstances


  • May be offset by aggravating circumstances
• Mitigating circumstances mentioned under justifying and exempting circumstances (not attendant)

  • Minority
  • Old Age (over 70 years of age)
  • No intention to commit so grave a wrong as that committed
  • Sufficient provocation or threat on the part of the offended party immediately preceded the act
  • Act committed in the immediate vindication of a grave offense to the one committing the felony his spouse, ascendants, or relatives by affinity within the same degree
  • Having acted upon an impulse so powerful as naturally to have produced passion or obfuscation (kabit thingy)
  • Voluntarily surrendered himself to a person in authority or his agents or voluntarily confessed his guilt before the court prior to the presentation of evidence for the prosecution
  • Offender is deaf and dumb, blind or otherwise suffering some physical defect which thus restricts his means of action, defense, or communications with his felony beings
  • Illness of the offender would diminish the exercise of the will power of the offender without however depriving him of the consciousness of his acts (mannerism, stroke)
  • Analogous circumstances (impulse of jealousy)
• Article 13, RA 3815
• • CONSUMMATED
  • When all the elements necessary for its execution and accomplishment are present; 
• • FRUSTRATED
  • When the offender performs all the acts of execution, which would produce the felony as a consequence, but which, nevertheless, do not produce it by reason of causes independent of the will of the perpetrator
• • ATTEMPTED
  • When the offender commences the commission of a felony directly or overt acts, and does not perform all the acts of execution, which should produce the felony by reason of some cause or accident other than this own spontaneous desistance.
• • Acts or omissions punishable by law are felonies (delitos); and are committed either by deceit (dolo) or by fault (culpa). There is DECEIT when the act is performed with deliberate intent; 

  And there is FAULT when the wrongful act results from imprudence, lack of foresight or lack of skill.
• ELEMENTS OF A FELONY 

  • There must be an act or omission; there must be external acts 
  • The act or omission must be punishable by the RPC; and 
  • The act is performed or the omission is incurred by means of dolo (malice) or culpa (fault).