MODULE 3

Coverage:

a. Crime Concepts
b. Introduction to Criminal law

CLASSIFICATIONS OF CRIMES

LEGAL CLASSIFICATIONS:

1. According to law violated

a. Felony – an act or omission punishable by law which is committed by

means of dolo (deceit) or culpa (fault) and punishable under the Revised Penal Code

b. Offense – an act or omission in violation of a special law

c. Infraction – an act or omission in violation of a city or municipal ordinance

2. According to the manner of committing crime:

a. By means of dolo or deceit – if the crime is committed with deliberate

intent. Thus, it is called intentional felonies.

• Freedom or voluntariness

• Intelligence

• Intent

b. By means of culpa or fault

- Felonies committed by means of culpa (fault)

- The act or omission of the offender is not malicious and the injury caused by
the offender is unintentional, it being the simply the incident of another act performed
without malice

• Lack of foresight

• Lack of skill

• Negligence

• Imprudence

3. According to the stages in the commission:

a. Attempted – the crime is attempted when the offender commences the

commission of a felony directly or over 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.
 b. 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.

c. Consummated - when all the elements necessary for its accomplishment

and execution are present

4. According to plurality:

a. Simple Crime – is a single act constituting only one offense.

b. Complex Crime – single act constituting two or more grave felonies or an

is a necessary means for committing the other

Two (2) Kinds of Complex Crime:

1. Compound crime (delito compuesto)

2. Complex crime proper (delito complejo)

5. According to gravity:

a. Grave felonies - are those to which the law attaches the capital
punishment or penalties which in any of their period are afflictive.

b. Less grave felonies - are those which the law punishes with penalties
which in their maximum period are correctional.

c. Light felonies - are infraction of laws for the commission of which the
penalty of arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos or both is provided.

6. According to the nature of the act:

a. Crimes mala in se – are acts that are inherently evil. Examples are
murder, robbery, etc.

b. Crimes mala prohibita – are acts which are prohibited only because there
are laws forbidding such acts. Examples are Illegal Possession of firearms, Traffic
Violations, etc.

CRIMINOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF CRIME

1. According to the result of the crime:

a. Acquisitive crime – if the offender acquired or gained something by

committing the crime. Examples are robbery, estafa, bribery, etc.

b. Destructive crime – if the crime resulted in destruction, damage or even

death. Examples are arson, murder and homicide, damage to property, etc.

2. According to the time or period of commission:

a. Seasonal crimes – are crimes that happen only during a particular season
or period of the year. Examples are violation of election law, tax law violations, etc.
 b. Situational crimes – are crimes committed when the situation is conducive
to the commission of the crime and there is an opportunity to commit it. Examples are
pickpocketing, theft, etc.

3. According to the length of time of the commission:

a. Instant crimes – are those crimes that can be committed in a very short
time. Example: theft

b. Episoidal crimes – are crimes committed through series of acts or

episodes and in much longer time. Example: serious illegal detention

4. According to place or location:

a. Static crimes – are committed only in one place. Examples are theft and
robbery

b. Continuing crimes – are crimes that take place in more than one place or
several places. Examples: abduction, kidnapping, etc.

5. According to the use of mental faculties:

a. Rational crimes – when the offender is capable of knowing what he is

doing and understanding the consequences of his actions.

b. Irrational Crimes – when the offender suffers from any form of mental
disorders, insanity or abnormality. Thus, the offender doesn’t know what he is doing.

6. According to the type of offender:

a. White Collar Crimes – crimes committed by those persons belonging to

the upper socio-economic status or in the course of his occupational activities.

b. Blue Collar Crimes – are those crimes committed by ordinary criminals as

a means of livelihood.

Why members of the society must be concerned with the study of crime

1. PERVASIVE- affects almost all people regardless of age, sex, race,

nationality, religion, financial condition, education and other personal
circumstances
2. EXPENSIVE- government and private sector spend enormous of money for
crime detection, prosecution and other personal circumstances

A. DIRECT EXPENSE- maintenance of police and security guards

B. INDIRECT EXPENSE- expense to those which utilizes in crime prevention

3. DESTRUCTIVE- many lives and property have been lost

4. REFLECTIVE- crime rate or incidence in a locality reflects the effectiveness

of the social defenses primarily police system
5. PROGRESSIVE- crime increases in volume on account of the increasing
population
What are the advantages of the existence of crime?

1. It promotes solidarity of the people

- Members of the community offer their all out assistance to establish a strong
front against crime. Families become stronger groups and become more
united and solidified to fight criminality. It is because; peace loving members
organize to free themselves from lawlessness and crimes.
2. It prevents morality from going to the extreme
Penal law is the safeguard of our morality. They provide penalty when morality
becomes low and this serves as a notice to the society that something has to be
done at once to prevent morality from going to the extreme.
3. It is notification of maladjustment
- Whenever a person violates criminal law, it is a proof that his action is not
within the accepted norm in the society. Crime is a symptom of social
disorganization just as fever or pain a proof that a person is sick.

STUDY OF CRIMINALS

Who is a CRIMINAL?

- In the legal sense, a criminal is any person who has been found to have
committed a wrongful act in the course of the standard judicial process; there must be
a final verdict of his guilt

- In criminological sense, a person is already considered a criminal the moment he

committed a crime.

General CLASSIFICATIONS OF CRIMINALS

1. According to etiology

a. Acute criminal

- is a person who committed crime as a result of reacting to a situation

or during a moment of anger or burst of feeling.

- Person who violate criminal law because of the impulse of the moment,
fit of passion or anger or spell of extreme jealousy

b. Chronic criminal

– is one who committed a crime with intent or deliberated thinking.

c. Neurotic criminal

– is one who has mental disorder.

- Person whose actions arise from intra- psychic conflict between the
social and anti- social components of his personality

d. Normal criminal

– A person, who commits crimes because he looks up to, idolizes people who are
criminals.
2. According to the type of offender:

a. Ordinary criminal – a criminal who engages in crimes which do not require

specialized or technical skill

b. Organized criminal – is one who possesses some skills and know-how

which enable him to commit crimes and evade detection.

c. Professional criminal – highly skilled criminals which are engaged in a

large scale criminal activities ad usually operate in groups.

3. According to criminal activities:

a. Professional criminal – a criminal who earns his living through criminal

activities.

b. Situational criminal – a person who got involved in criminal act because

the situation presented itself.

c. Habitual criminal – one who repeatedly commits criminal act for different
reasons.

d. Accidental criminal – a person who accidentally violated the law due to

some circumstances.

EXPLANATION TO CRIMINALITY

TYPE OF EXPLANATION TO CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR

1. Single or Unitary Causes

- Crime is produced by only one factor or variable be they are social, biological
or mental. This theory is no longer in use at present
2. Multiple Factor Theory
- Crime is not a product of a single cause or factor but a combination of several
factors. Some factors are playing major reason while the others are playing
the minor role. This is the accepted theory of crime causation.
3. Eclectic Theory
- Crime in one instance may be caused by one or more factors, while in other
instances it is caused by another set of factors.

EARLIER EXPLANATIONS TO THE EXISTENCE OF CRIMINALITY

1. The explanation that crime is caused by demons.

- Accordingly, men commit anti- social acts because the demons, spirits, or
someone from the “other world” instructed, forced or pushed them to do so.
This belief is during the pagan age when any wrongful act of men is
attributed to the will of devils or other super natural beings. To free men
from the evil spirits, people resorted to rituals to drive the evil spirits and to
avoid them from being influence under their control.

2. Explanation that crime is caused by divine will

 - Men manifest criminal behavior because they are sinful, so God wants to
punish them. During the ancient period, criminals are given the right of
sanctuary whereby they can seek refuge in the temple of God so they will be
free from prosecution and punishment. Early American system of prison
management do not allow inmates to talk with another or prisoners are
placed in a single cell so to men as to give them more opportunity to ask for
forgiveness from God.

3. The explanation that crime is the result of the free will of men
- According to Becarria, men are fundamentally a biological organism with
intelligence and rationality which control their behavior. Before men do
something, they try to determine the amount of pain they will suffer and the
amount of pleasure they will receive. They future actions will depend on the
algebraic sum of two considerations if there will be more pain than pleasure,
they will desist from doing the act. Finally, crime is caused by the rational
effort to minimize men to augment their pleasure and to minimize their pains.

4. The explanation that crime is the result of the free will of men but were
committed due to some compelling reasons prevailed
- This explanation accept the fact that crimes are committed in accordance
with the free will of men but the act of committing a crime is modified by
some causes that finally prevail upon the person to commit crime. These
causes are pathology, incompetence, insanity or any condition that will make
it possible for the individual to exercise free will entirely. In the study of legal
provisions this is termed as either mitigating or exempting circumstances.

5. The explanation that criminals are born.

- According to Cesare Lobroso, the Father of Modern Criminology, criminals are
born with some physical characteristics which become the causes of crimes.
The advanced of the following explanations to some causes are the following;
 that the test is a distinct born criminal type
 that this type can be identified by certain stigma or abnormalities
 that the stigmata are not the causes of crime but rather the
symptoms of atavism or reversion of his body to his ape-like
ancestors
 that the atavism and degeneracy of the body are the causes of
crime
 that the person who is born criminal cannot refrains from
committing crime unless he lives under exceptionally favorable
circumstances
Examples of Physical Degeneracy

a. deviation on head size and shape

b. asymmetry of the face
c. excessive dimensions of the jaws and cheek bones
d. eye defects and peculiarities
e. unusual size of the ears
 f. nose are twisted, upturned, flattened and aquiline
g. thick and fleshy lips, swollen and protruding
h. abnormality of the feet
i. chin receding or excessively long, short or flat
j. abnormalities of the hair, bald
k. supernumerary fingers and toes
l. imbalance of the hemisphere of the brain

FACTORS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT AND EXISTENCE OF CRIMES AND

CRIMINALITY

1. Geographical factors
2. Biological factors
3. Psychoanalytic and Psychiatric factors
4. Sociological factors
5. Other criminogenic factors

 The Geographical Factors

Early criminologists correlated climate, humidity, wind velocity, atmosphere

pressure, rainfall, nature of soil and other geographical factors to the existence and
development of crimes and criminality. The following are some of the explanations
formulated by criminologists about geography and crimes.

a. North and South Pole- according to Quetelet, “thermic law of

delinquency,” crimes against person predominate in the South Pole during
warm season while crimes against property predominate in the North Pole
and cold countries.
b. Approaches to the equator- according to Montesquie (Spirits of Law,
1748), criminality increase in proportion as one approaches the equator
and drunkenness increases as one approaches the North and South pole.
c. Season of the year- crimes against person are more in summer than in
Rainy season, while crimes against property are more during Rainy
season. Climatic condition directly affects one’s irritability and cause
criminality. During dry season, people get out of their houses more, and
there is more contact and consequently more probability of personal
violence.
d. Soil formation- More crimes of violence are recorded in fertile lands than
in hilly rugged terrain. There is more congregations of people and there
are more irritation. There is also more incidence of rape in level districts.
e. Month of the year- There is more incidences of violent crimes during
warm months from April up to July having its peak in May. This is due to
May Festivals, excursions, picnics and other sort of festivities wherein
people are more in contact with one another.
f. Temperature- According to Dexter, the number of arrests increases quite
regularly with the increase of temperature. The increase of temperature
affects the emotional state of the individual and leads to fighting. The
influence of temperature upon females is greater than males.
 g. Humidity and atmosphere pressure- According to survey, large number of
assaults are to be found correlated with low humidity. It was explained
that low and high humidity are both vitally and emotionally depressing to
the individual.
h. Wind velocity- Under the same study, it was explained that during high
wind, the number of arrest were less. It may be due to the presence of
more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that lessens the vitality and
emotionally depressing to the individual.

 Biological Factors

A man as a living organism has been the object of several studies which has the
purpose of determining the causes of his crimes. Among the studies are the following;

1. Physiognomy- this is the study of the relationship between the facial features
and human conduct of a person in relation to his crimes. This study was used
by Becarria in 1764 and Lavater in 17775 wherin they both stated that the
way to disco ver the character of a person is by the observation of his
physical appearance, measurement of the outward appearance. Both claimed
that bald men, bearded women, shifty eyes, weak chin and arrogant nose are
inclinations.
2. Phrenology or Craniology
This is the study of external formation of the skull that indicates the
conformation of the brain and the development of its various parts in
relation to the behavior of the criminal Franz Joseph Christaph Spursheim
claimed in his study that the shape of the head of the criminals differs
from that of the non- criminals. The theory however was found without
scientific basis.
3. Study of the Physical Defects and Handicapped in relation to crimes

Leaders of notorious criminal groups are usually nicknamed in accordance

with their physical defect and handicapped such as funny words “ Dodong Pilay,”
“Asiong Bingot,” “Densiong Unano,” “Roger Kumang” and others. It is very
common that these criminals are known by their physical handicapped and
defects which was the usual source of irritation during their childhood days
whenever they become the subject matter of jokes by others. As a consequence,
they become violent; feel inferior to others and or being ostracized by the
society. The unfavorable results therefore could be the following;

a. persons suffering from physical defects have poor social relationship and
serious emotional disturbance
b. it reduces his capacity to complete occupationally and socially
c. persons suffering from defects are frequently irritated by friends and resort to
violent criminal behavior

4. Study of Kretschemer by Classifying Types of Physique and the Type of

Crimes they are prone to commit
a. Pyknic type- those who are stout and with round bodies. They tend to
commit deception, fraud and violence
 b. Athletic type- Those who are muscular and strong. They are usually
connected with crimes of violence
c. Asthenic type- those who are skinny and slender. Their crimes are petty
thievery and fraud
d. Dysplastic or Mixed type- those who are lesser evident having any
predominant type. Their offenses are against decency and morality

 Study of William Sheldon

Types of Physique

a. Endomorphic
- Relatively great development of digestive viscera, tendency to put on fat, soft
roundness through various regions of the body, short tapering limbs, small
bones and smooth velvety skin
b. Mesomorphic
- Relatively predominance of muscles, bone and the motor organs of the body,
large wrist and hands, if lean, a hard rectangular outline.
c. Ectomorphic
- relative predominance of skin and its appendages which includes the
nervous system, lean, fragile, delicate bones, droopy shoulders, small face,
sharp nose, fine hair, relatively small body and with great surface area.

Temperament

a. Endomorphic- Viscerotonic
- general relaxation of body; a comfortable person, loves luxury, an essentially
EXTROVERT person
b. Mesomorphic- Romotonic
- active, dynamic, walks, talks, gestures assertively and behaves aggressively
c. Ectomorphic- Cerebrotonic
- INTROVERT, full of functional complaints, allergies, skin troubles, chronic
fatigue, insomnia, sensitive skin, shrinks from the crowd

 Study of Heredity as the Cause of Crime

The common household expressions like “it is in the blood” and “like father like
son” are usually heard whenever there are several members in the family are
criminals. Accordingly, heredity transmits single traits and characteristics from
parents to offspring’s. Criminality of the offspring is used to determine the nature of
the parent and nature of their crimes. Although modern criminologists seem not to
accept the role of heredity in the formation of criminal behavior of men, it cannot be
denied that it plays an important role and is contributory in the genesis of criminal
behavior.

The following are some proofs to show the role of heredity in the
development of criminality.
 A. Study of Kallikak Family Tree (Goddard)

Martin Kallikak was a soldier of the American revolutionary war, and while
stationed in a small village, he met and had an illicit relation with a feeble minded girl.
About 489 descendants from this lineage where traced which included 143
feebleminded and only 46 were normal. Thirty six (36) were epileptics, 3 were
criminals, and 8 were kept in brothels and 82 died in infancy.

At the close of the war, Martin Kallikak Sr. returned to his home and marry a
Quaker of good family. Out of this marriage, 4 967 of the descendants has been traced,
and all, but one were not normal mentally. Only two were known to be alcoholic, one
was convicted of religious offense, 15 died in infancy and no one became criminal or
epileptic.

B. Study of Juke Family ( Dugdale and Estabrook)

The Juke Family Tree was consisted of six girls of who were illegitimate. One of
the six girls was known as “Margaret”- the ‘Mother of Criminals.” Dugdale traced the
1200 descendants for 75 years from its origin and found 280 as paupers, 140 criminals,
60 habitual thieves, 300 infants prematurely born, 7 murderers, 50 prostitutes, 440
contaminated with sexual diseases, and 30 were prosecuted for bastardy.

C. Study of Sir Jonathan Edwards Family Tree

Sir Jonathan Edwards was a famous preacher during the Colonial Period. When
his family tree was traced, none of the descendants was found to be criminal. On the
other hand, many became Presidents of the United States, Governors, and members of
the Supreme Court, famous writers, preachers, and teachers.

 Psychoanalytic Factors

Several noted criminologists have advanced theories that criminal behavior is

developed among individuals consonant with the development of human mind, traits
and behavior. Among them are the following;

1. AICHORN- in his book “Wayward Youth”, 1925 said that the cause of crime
and delinquency is the faulty development of the child during the first few
years of his life. As a child, the human being normally follows his pleasure
impulses instinctively. Soon he grew up and finds some restrictions to these
pleasure impulses which he must control. Otherwise, he suffers from faulty
ego development and become delinquent.
2. ABRAHAMSEN in his book “ Crime and the Human Mind,” 1945 explained the
cause of crime by this formula;

“Criminal behavior is equals to criminalistics tendencies plus crime

inducing situation divided by the person’s mental and emotional
resistance to temptation.”
3. CYRILL BUIRT (Young Delinquent) - gave the theory of General Emotionality.
According to him, many offenses can be traced to either in excess or
deficiency of a particular instinctive drive. An excess of the submissive instinct
account for the tendency of many criminals to be weak or willed or easily
 lead. Fear and absconding may be due to the deficiency in the primitive
emotion of love and an excuse of the instinct of hate.
4. HEALY (Individual Delinquency)- claimed that crimne is an expression of the
mental content of the individual. Frustration of the individual causes
emotional discomfort, personality demands removal of pain and the pain is
eliminated by substitute behavior, that is, crime delinquency of the individual.
5. BROMBERG (Crime and the Mind), 1948) - claimed that criminality is the
result of emotional immaturity. Person is emotionally matured when he knows
how to control his emotion effectively and who live at peace with himself and
in harmony with the standards of conduct which are acceptable to the
society. An emotionally immature person rebel against rules and regulations
and tends to engage in unusual things and experiences and has feeling of
guilt due to inferiority complex.
 Sigmund Freud ( The Ego and the ID, 1927)

He is recognized as the Father of Psychoanalysis. In his theory, Psychoanalytical

Theory of human personality and crimes, there are three components of personality;

a. ID- the part that contains powerful urges and drive for gratification and
satisfaction. At this point, the human being is prepared to behave only in
terms of pleasure principle towards the discharge of his instinctual energies.
Selfishness, violence and anti social wishes are part of the original instinct of
man.
b. Ego- acts as a moderator or between super ego and Id. Follow the reality
principle.
c. Super Ego- the “conscience of man.” It is the role of the agencies outside of
the home which tries to control the ego. The super ego tries to correct or
control the ego and may be represented by the voice of God, moral truth,
commandments of society, and good of the majority, cultural interventions
and other rules.

Psychoanalysis suggested that criminality may result from an overactive

conscience that results in excessive guilt feelings. Those who were suffering from
unbearable guilt committed crimes in order to be apprehended and punished.
Once they have punished, their feeling of guilt is released.

THE GIANELL INDEX OF CRIMINALITY

This criminosynthesis explain the reasons why a person commit or inhibit himself
from doing so under the following conditions;

a. Need Frustration- the person before committing the crime is likely to feel
unhappy, unsatisfied, resentful or angry about something in particular or
about life in general.
b. Internal Inhibition- it refers to all types of internal forces which may
prevent a person from committing a crime. These forces may be person’s
conscience, or his principles, or his sense of self- respect or the particular
conception he has, sense of guilt or remorse that he may experience.
These forces operate from within the person without any need for restrain
from the outside.
 c. External Inhibition- this forces may be produced by the thought that the
person may get caught if he commits the crime, or sentenced to a prison
for a given number of years, or disgraced in the community or punished in
some other way.
d. Contact with reality- refers to the extent to which a person learn from his
past experiences especially his past mistakes as well as to the extent to
which he can evaluate the consequences of his present action in relation
to his future.
e. Situational crime potential- refers to the cultural opportunity to commit
crime. That is to the easiness or possibilities to commit crime offered by a
given place, situation, person or environment.
f. Potential Satisfaction- refers to the balance of gain and loss that a person
may experience if he commits a crime. If a person has nothing to lose, he
is more likely to commit the crime. Instead, he has a great deal of assets
in life and cares about them such as love in relation to his parents, his
family, children, job, money in the bank, property, good reputation etc.
 Sociological Causes of Crime

It refers to things, places and people with whom in contact and plays an important
part in determining our action and conduct. These causes may bring about the
development of criminal behavior. Edwin H. Sutherland briefly explained the process by
which a particular person comes to engage in criminal behavior.

a. That criminal behavior is learned

b. That criminal behavior is learned in the process of communication with
others
c. That the principal part of learning occurs within the intimate personal
group
d. That upon learning criminal behavior, the criminal learns the technique of
committing crimes, its motives, drives and rationale.
e. The learning process may vary in frequency, duration, priority, and
intensity
f. That while criminal behavior is an expression of general needs and values.
It is not explained by those in general.

Primitive Tribes

 Punishment may be in the form of ostracism and expulsion

 Adultery may be punished by the aggrieved husband who may kill the
adulterer and his own offending wife
 Crime may be avenged by the victim himself or by the victim’s family

THE EARLY CODES

CODE OF HAMMURABI

a. Hammurabi, the king of Babylon during the eighteenth century BC, is

recognized as the first codifier of laws

b. It provides the first comprehensive view of the laws in the early days
 c. The Code was carved in stone

d. The “law of talion”, or the principle of “tit for tat”,(an eye for an eye,
tooth for a tooth) appears throughout the Code

e. Under the principle of the law of talion, the punishment should be the
same as the harm inflicted on the victim

Highlights of the Code of Hammurabi:

a) Compensation to the victim of a robbery by the authorities of the city in

which the robbery occurred if the thief was not caught

b) The killer is answerable not to the family of the victim but to the king

c) Death was the penalty for robbery, theft, false witness, building a house
that falls on its owner (if the house should collapse and kill the owner’s son, the son of
the builder would be the one executed)

d) A son who struck his father would suffer the amputation of a hand

e) If in an assault a victim m’s bone was broken, the same bone of the
assailant would be broken

THE HITTITES

 the Hittites existed about two centuries after Hammurabi and eventually
conquered Babylon
 Highlights of the laws of the Hittites:
 capital punishment was used for many offenses, except for homicide or robbery
 rape, sexual intercourse with animals, defiance of the authority and sorcery were
all punishable by death
 the law of homicide provided for the restitution to the victim’s heirs
 law enforcement and judicial functions were placed in the hands of commanders
of military garrisons

CODE OF DRAKON

 knows as the “ultimate in severity”

 codified by Drakon, the Athenian lawgiver of the seventh century BC

Highlights of the Code of Drakon:

 death was the punishment for almost every offense

 murderers might avoid execution by going into exile; if they return to Athens, it
was not a crime to kill the
 death penalty was administered with great brutality

LAWS OF SOLON

 Solon was appointed archon and was given legislative powers

 Solon repealed all the laws of the Code of Drakon, except the law on homicide
  Solon was one of the first to see that a lawgiver had to make laws that applied
equally to all citizens and also saw that the law of punishment had to maintain
proportionality to the crimes committed

Highlights of the Laws of Solon:

 the thief was required to return stolen property and pay the victim a sum equal
to twice its value
 for the crime of temple robbery, the penalty was death
 for rape of a woman, the penalty was a fine of certain amount

ROME’S TWELVE TABLES

 Roman law began with the Twelve Tables which were written in the middle of
the sixth century BC
 the Twelve Tables were the foundation of all laws in Rome and written in tablets
of bronze
 the Twelve Tables were drafted by the Decemvirs, a body of men composed of
patricians

Highlights of the Twelve Tables:

 if a man break another’s limb and does not compensate the injury, he shall be
liable to retaliation
 a person who committed arson of a house or a stack of corn shall be burned
alive
 judges who accepted bribes as well as those who bribed them were subject to
execution
 any act of treason was punishable by crucifixion

INTRODUCTION CRIMINAL LAW

Origins of Law

Order is essential for society, and law can be conceived as simply a body of rules
governing a social order. This section provides a brief discussion on how laws came to
be.

– is that branch of public law which defines crimes treats of their nature and
provides for their punishment.

Revised Penal Code or Act No. 3815

– Book that contains the Philippine Criminal Law and different special laws and
decrees which are penal in nature. It is called as RPC because the old penal code which
took effect in the country on July 14, 1887 and was in force until Dec. 31, 1931 was
revised by the Committee created by Administrative Order No. 94 of the Department of
Justice, dated Oct. 18, 1927, composed of Anacleto Diaz as Chairman, Alex Reyes and
Mariano de Joya as members.The RPC was approved on Dec. 8, 1930 and took effect
on January 1, 1932.

Principal Parts of the RPC

 It is composed of two books; book one which is composed of Articles 1-113 and
book two covering Articles 114-367.

a. Articles 1-20 – principles affecting criminal liability

b. Articles 21-113 – penalties including criminal and civil liability

c. Articles 114-367 – felonies

Characteristics of the RPC

1. Generality – the law is applicable to all persons within the territory

irrespective of sex, race, nationality or civil status except:

a. Head of state

b. Foreign diplomats, ambassadors, who are duly accredited to our country

c. Foreign troops permitted to march within the territory

2. Territoriality - the RPC is applicable to felonies committed within the Philippine

territorial jurisdiction.

a. Philippine archipelago – all the islands that comprise the Philippines

b. Atmosphere water – all bodies of water that connect all the islands such
as bays, rivers and streams

c. Maritime zone – the twelve (12) Nautical Mile limit beyond our shore
measured at low tide

EXCEPTIONS TO THE TERRITORIAL CHARACTER OF THE REVISED PENAL

CODE:

The Revised Penal Code shall be applicable to all cases committed outside the
Philippine territorial jurisdiction under the following circumstances:

a) Should commit an offense while on Philippine ship or airship;

b) Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippine

Island or obligations and securities issued by the government of the Philippines;

c) While being a public officer or employee, should commit an offense in the

exercise of their functions’

d) Should commit any of the crimes against national security and law of
nations

3. Prospectively

- The provisions of the RPC cannot be applied if the act is not yet punishable on
the time the felony was committed. However, it may have a retroactive effect if it is
favorable to the accused who is not a habitual delinquent.

4. It is specific and definite.

 Criminal law must give a strict definition of a specific act which constitutes an
offense. Where there is doubt as to whether a definition embodied in the Revised Penal
Code applies to the accused or not, the judge is obligated to decide the case in favor of
the accused. Criminal law must be construed liberally in favor of the accused and
strictly against the state.

5. It is uniform in application.

An act described as a crime is a crime no matter who committed it, wherever

committed in the Philippines and whenever committed. No exceptions must be made
as to the criminal liability. The definition of crimes together with the corresponding
punishment must be uniformly construed, although there may be a difference in the
enforcement of a given specific provision of the penal law.

6. There must be a penal sanction or punishment.

Penal sanction is the most essential part of the definition of the crime. If there is
no penalty to a prohibited act, its enforcement will almost be impossible. The penalty is
acting as deterrence and as a measure of self-defense of the state to protect society
from the threat and wrong inflicted by the criminal.