CRIMINAL See also:

• LAW
• LAW (0. Eng. lagu, M. Eng. lawe; from an old Teutonic root lag, " lie," what lies fixed or evenly; cf. Lat. lex, Fr. loi)
• LAW, JOHN (1671—1729)
• LAW, WILLIAM (1686-1761)

Criminal and See also:

• CIVIL

Of the early criminal laws of See also:

• GREECE

3. Privata delicta, offences for which a special form of action was open to the injured party, e.g. actio furti. The multiplicity of tribunals under the republic was replaced under the See also:

• EMPIRE

2. All crimes were treated as wrongs, for which compensation was made by See also:

• ASSESSMENT, (from Lat. assessare, to sit beside, to judge)

Certain crimes, such as murder, See also:

• RAPE
• RAPE (from Lat. rapere, to seize)
• RAPE (Lat. rapum or rapa, turnip)

The See also:

• STATUTE

We have to speak of outlawry, of the blood feud (faidus), of the tariffs of wer and wile Anglo-Norman See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

In many continental codes distinctions are drawn between crimes (Ger. Verbrechen; Norse vorbrydelser; Span. crimenes; Ital. reato), delicts (Ger. Vergehen; Ital. delilti; Span. delitos), and contraventions (Ital. contravenzioni; Span. faltas). The classification adopted by English law is See also:

• PECULIAR

See also:

• CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

In the case of the crimes described as felonies the law distinguishes between principals in the first or second degree and accessories before or after the fact. In the case of misdemeanours the same punishment is incurred by the See also:

• PRINCIPAL

The definitions of particular crimes are still to be sought in the common law and the decisions of the judges. The Consolidation Acts of 1861 for the most part leave definitions as they stood, e.g. the Larceny Act 1861 does not define the crime of larceny. The consequence is that exact definitions are very difficult to See also:

• FRAME

See also:

• JURIS

The French theory is that a French-man owes See also:

• ALLEGIANCE (Mid. Eng. ligeaunce; med. Lat. ligeantia, &c.; the al- was probably added through confusion with another legal term, allegeance, an allegation; the Fr. allegeance comes from the English; the word is formed from " liege," of which the derivatio

Since 1861 these special commissions have been rendered unnecessary by the See also:

• PROVISION (Lat. provisio)

Here it is enough to say that during the 19th century great changes Punish. have been made throughout the See also:

• WORLD

3. Imprisonment in a local prison, which must be without hard labour unless a statute specially authorizes a sentence of hard labour. At common law there is no limit to a term of imprisonment for misdemeanour; but for many offences (both felonies and misdemeanours) the term is limited by statute to two years, and in practice this limit is not exceeded for any offence. The treatment of prisoners is regulated by the prison acts and rules. 4. Police supervision, on conviction or indictment of felony and certain misdemeanours after a previous conviction of such offences. Prevention of Crimes Act, c. 112, §§ 8, 20. 5. Pecuniary fine, a punishment appropriate only to misdemeanours and never imposed for a felony except under statutory authority, e.g. manslaughter (Offences against the Person Act, § 5). The amount of the fine is in the discretion of the judge, subject to the directions of Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights and of any statute limiting the maximum for a particular offence. 6.

See also:

• WHIPPING, or FLOGGING

Where power is given to deal summarily with offences which under ordinary circumstances would be tried on indictment, the punishments are as follows (Summary Jurisdiction Act 1879) : (a) In the case of adults pleading guilty, imprisonment not exceeding six months without the See also:

• OPTION (Lat. optio, choice, choosing, optare, to choose)

In the German code of 1872 the legal punishments are: (I) death; (2) penal servitude for life or for a term not exceeding fifteen years nor less than one year; (3) imprisonment with labour for a term not exceeding five years nor less than one day; (4) confinement in a fortress (terms same as for penal servitude but involving only withdrawal of freedom and supervision); (5) arrest for not more than six weeks nor less than one day; (6) fine (not less than three marks in the case of crimes or delicts nor one See also:

• MARK
• MARK, CARL (1858– )
• MARK, GOSPEL OF ST
• MARK, ST

The second includes forms of imprisonment, (presidio and prision), and arrest, public censure and suspension from the exercise of certain offices or callings. The slight punishments are minor arrest and private censure. Offenders in any of the three classes may also be fined or put under See also:

• RECOGNIZANCE (from Lat. recognoscere, to acknowledge)

(See QUARTER SESSIONS, COURT OF.) 4. The High Court of Justice in the king's See also:

• BENCH (an O.E. and Eng. form of a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Bank, Dan. baenk and the Eng. doublet " bank ")

(See MILITARY LAW; See also:

• MARTIAL (MARCUS VALERIUS MARTIALIS)

It is litigious or accusatory and not inquisitorial (Stephen, See also:

• PREL, KARL, FREIHERR VON (1839–1899)

There is not in England, as in Scotland and all European countries, a public See also:

• DEPARTMENT (Fr. departement, from departir, to separate into parts)

The prosecutor in cases of felony may if he likes go before the grand jury whether the case has or has not been the subject of a preliminary inquiry, but in the case of many misdemeanours it is obligatory first to have a preliminary inquiry, as a See also:

• PROTECTION

This is still true to a certain extent, as great injustice may be caused to a man by removing him from his neighbours and trying him at a distance from his See also:

• FRIENDS, SOCIETY
• FRIENDS, SOCIETY OF

He is tried by these jurors in open court. The common law method of trial of crimes by a jury of twelve, native to English law, has been in modern times transplanted to European countries. It was not the original form of trial, for it was pre- ceded by See also:

• WAGER (derived, through Fr. wagier, gagier, from Lat. vadiunz, a pledge)

Confessions (which are the object sought by French procedure) are regarded with some suspicion, and admissions alleged to have been made by the accused are not admitted unless it is clear that they were not extracted by inducements of a temporal nature held out by persons in authority over him. During the See also:

• SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

This proceeding must not be confused with the preliminary inquiry already mentioned before justices for an indictable offence, nor with the procedure before justices in relation to civil matters, such as the recovery of small sums of See also:

• MONEY

Any considerable defect or informality in the procedure might be the subject of a See also:

• WRIT (O. Eng. gewrit, writ, from writan, to write)

Between 1852 and 1888 parliament reimbursed to the local authorities the expense imposed on the local rate. In 1888 the proceeds of certain taxes were set aside and handed over to the local authorities as a set-off to the expense incurred in prosecutions. In one class of case, offences committed in the See also:

• ADMIRALTY, HIGH COURT OF

The preliminary chapter is followed by the classification of offences according to the importance of the punishments the law assigns to them. The lowest degree of offence is denominated " contravention." It applies mainly to the pettiest offences, or to infractions of police regulations, and can be punished by fine or by imprisonment under a See also:

• WEEK (from A.S. wicu, Germanic *wikon, probably=change, turn)

Foreign codes differ from the English law in allowing the injured party to claim damages in the criminal suit, appearing as partie civile. On another question there is a wide divergence on the See also:

• CONTINENT (from Lat. continere, "to hold together "; hence " connected," " continuous ")

Preliminary inquiries into an indictable offence may be, but rarely if ever are, conducted in private. On the continent of Europe, with rare exceptions, all preliminary proceedings in a criminal charge are See also:

• SECRET (Lat. secretum, hidden, concealed)

Even in France, the See also:

• CHAMPION (Fr. champion, Late Lat. campio from campus; a field or open space, i.e. one " who takes the field " or fights; cf. Ger. Kampf, battle, and Kampfer, fighter)

In most countries of the continent of Europe the whole machinery for the prevention, investigation and punishment of crime, is conducted by what is called the parquet, which represents society as a collective unit and not the individual injured. The head of the whole parquet in France is the procureurgeneral, who holds equal See also:

• RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

This great See also:

• ELASTICITY

See also:

• WRIGHT, CARROLL DAVIDSON (1840-1909)
• WRIGHT, CHAUNCEY (1830-1875)
• WRIGHT, JOSEPH (1734-1797)
• WRIGHT, SILAS (1795-1847)
• WRIGHT, THOMAS (1809–1884)
• WRIGHT, THOMAS (1810—1877)
• WRIGHT, WILLIAM ALDIS (1836– )

The nature of the instructions indicate the crudity of the ideas then ruling as to codification. The commissioners were directed to digest into one statute all enactments touching crimes and the punishment thereof, and into another statute the provisions of the common unwritten law touching the same. The commission was renewed in 1836 and 1837, and in 1843 a second commission was appointed. Numerous and voluminous reports were published, including (1848) a bill for consolidating and amending the law as to crimes and punishments, and (1849) a like bill for criminal procedure, indicating that the commissioners had in the meantime learned the distinction between substantive and See also:

• ADJECTIVE (from the Lat. adjectives, added)

While the See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

The draft was presented to the legislative council in 1856, but owing to the See also:

• MUTINY
• MUTINY (from an old verb " mutine," O. Fr. mutin, meutin, a sedition; cf. mod. Fr. emeute; the original is the Late Lat. mota, commotion, from movere, to move)

The code then passes on to offences against property; offences relating to forgery, including trade marks, criminal breach of contracts for service; offences relating to See also:

• MARRIAGE

Elaborate provision is made for the prevention of offences, as regards security for keeping the peace and for good behaviour, the See also:

• DISPERSION
• DISPERSION (from Lat. dispergere, to scatter)

All sentences of death must be confirmed by the High Court. No appeal lies against an acquittal in ans criminal case. This system of appeal, superintendence and revision ,would be totally inapplicable to England, but it has proved eminently successful as applied to the present social See also:

• CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

The Belgian codes (1867), and the Dutch penal code (188o), closely follow the French model. In Spain the penal code dates from 187o, the procedure code from 1886. The Spanish See also:

• AMERICAN