Criminal Law Reviewer (Art.

1-113) Criminal Law is that branch of publicsubstantive law which defines offenses andp rescribes their penalties. It is also that branchof municipal law, which defines crimes, treatsof their nature and provides for theirpunishment.3 Characteristic s of Criminal Law:1)Generality - means that the criminallaw of the country gover ns all personswithin the country regardless of theirrace, belief, sex, or creed. However, itis subject to certain exceptions broughtabout by international agree ment.Ambassadors, chiefs of states and otherdiplomatic officials are immune from the application of penal laws whenthey are in the country where they areassigned . (Hindi kasama dito angdiplomats, etc.)2)Territoriality - means that the penall aws of the country have force andeffect only within its territory. Itcannot pena lize crimes committedoutside the same. This is subject tocertain exceptions brou ght about byinternational agreements and practice.The territory of the country i s notlimited to the land where itssovereignty resides but includes also itsmarit ime and interior waters as well asits atmosphere. (kasama lahat dito!) Terrestrial: jurisdictionexercised over the land Fluvial: jurisdiction overmaritime and interior waters(3-5 nautical miles from t heshore, sakop pa rin natin) Aerial: jurisdiction over theatmosphere (airspace natin)3)Prospectivity - Acts o r omissions willonly be subject to a penal law if theyare committed after a pena l law hadalready taken effect. Vice-versa, thisact or omission which has beencom mitted before the effectivity of apenal law could not be penalized bysuch penal law because penal lawsoperate only prospectively. French Rule The French Rule provides that the nationality of the vessel follows the flag whi ch the vesselflies, unless the crime committed endangers thenational security of a foreign country where thevessel is within jurisdiction in which case suchfore ign country will never lose jurisdiction oversuch vessel. American Rule / Anglo-Saxon Rule This rule strictly enforces the territoriality of criminal law. The law of the f oreign countrywhere a foreign vessel is within its jurisdiction isstrictly appli ed, except if the crime affects onlythe internal management of the vessel in whi chcase it is subject to the penal law of the countrywhere it is registered. Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege There is no crime when there is no law punishingthe same. This is true to civil lawcountries, but not to commonlaw countries. No matter how wrongful, evilor bad the act is, if there is nolaw defining the ac t, the sameis not considered a crime. Common law crimes arewrongful acts which thecommunity/society condemnsas contemp tible, even thoughthere is no law declaring theact criminal. Not any law punishing an actor omission may be valid as acriminal law. If the la wpunishing an act is ambiguous,it is null and void. Actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea The act cannot be criminal where the mind isnot criminal. This is true to a felonycharacterized by dolo, but nota felony resulting from cu lpa. This maxim is not an absoluteone because it is not appliedto culpable felonies, or thosethat result from negligence. Mens Rea in layman's terms: bulls-eye of a crime. Synonymous with criminal or deliberateinten

t, but that is not correct. It still dependson the elements of the crime. You ca n onlydetect the mens rea of a crime by knowing theparticular crime committed. W ithout referenceto a particular crime, this term is meaningless.Ex. In theft, me ns rea is taking the propertywith intent to gain. In falsification, mens rea, is the effect of the forgery with intent to pervertthe truth. Mala in se: