Mrs. Rowena E.

Mojares, RC
Faculty member
College of Criminology
Lyceum of the Philippines University
Concept of crime, Law and
Justice
 Legislative branch- consists of a Senate
and a House of Representatives. The
power to create laws lies in this branch.
 Executive branch- composed of the
office of the President. The president
has the power to create PD during
Martial Law, Executive orders,
Proclamation numbers, Administrative
Orders that have power and effect of
laws;
 Judicial branch- that has the power to
check and balance the constitutionality
of the laws created.
Limitation on the power of the
lawmaking body to enact penal
legislation
 No ex post facto law or bill of attainder
shall be enacted (Art. III, Sec 22)

 No person shall be held to answer for a

criminal offense without due process of
law. (Art. III, Sec. 14 )
Scope of Criminal Justice
System

 Anchored on the violation of laws that

are criminal in nature.
 It could be violation of public or
municipal laws or special penal laws.
 RPC or Act No. 3815 is considered to be
the public or municipal law in the Phils
What is criminal law?
 Criminal law is that branch or division of
law which defines crimes, treats of their
nature, and provides for their
punishment
Sources of criminal law
 The RPC (Act no.3815) and its
amendment
 Special penal laws passed by the
Philippine Commission, Phil assembly,
Phil legislature, National assembly, the
Congress of the Phils, and the Batasang
Pambansa; and
 Penal Presidential Decrees issued
during martial law
Characteristics of criminal law
 General
 Territorial
 Prospective
Exception: whenever a new statute dealing
with crime establishes conditions more
lenient and favourable to the accused, it
can be given retroactive effect, provided
that the accused is not a habitual
criminal under Rule 5, art 62, RPC
Assignment
 Read the Revised Penal Code, Book 1,
then, go to Art. 2, Applications of its
Provisions. Read and memorize the
enumerated 5 instances indicating that
our Criminal law will be applied even if
the act is committed outside the
Philippine Territory.
 Exceptions to the territorial
application of criminal law

 Should commit an offense while on

Philippine ship or airship
 Should forge or counterfeit any coin or
currency note of the Philippines or
obligations and securities issued by the
government of the Phils.
 Should be liable for acts connected with
the introduction into the Philippines of
the obligations and securities mentioned
in the preceding number
 While being public officers or
employees, should commit an offense in
the exercise of their functions; or
 Should commit any of the crimes against
national security and the law of nations,
defined in Title One of Book Two of the
RPC
What is crime?
 Crime is an act committed or omitted in
violation of public law
 Crimes can be legally categorized as ff:
1. Offense – is an act or omission
punishable by special laws
2. Felony – punishable by RPC
3. Misdemeanor or Infraction of laws – an
act or omission in violation of
ordinances.
Crime can be…..
 Mala in se – a Latin phrase which
means “wrong or evil”

 Mala Prohibita/Prohibitum – is not wrong

in itself; its not wrong in nature
Felony by means of dolo(deceit) has the ff.
elements
 He must have freedom while doing the
act or failing to do act
 He must have intelligence while doing
the act or failing to do the act, and
 He must have intent while doing the act
Illustration
 James, upon knowing of the arrival of
Cathy, went to the latters house. He
ibrought with him a firearm and started
to fire the house because he was so
angry that Cathy chose to marry another
man.
Felony by means of culpa (fault)

 He must have Freedom while doing the

act or failing to do the act;
 He must have Intelligence while doing
the act or failing to do the act; and
 He is Imprudent, Negligent, Lacks of
foresight or skill while doing the act or
failing to do the act.
Illustration
 Samantha and Richard were shot
because of stray bullets.
 Cardo was killed by an eleven (11) year-
old boy.
 Benita was raped by Mark as a result of
high school challenge.
What is Justice?
 Justice is the process or result of using
laws to fairly judge and punish crimes
and criminals ( Merriam Webster
Dictionary)
 Justice itself is one of the most difficult
goals of any justice system. The reason
for this is the different concepts of every
individual of what is justice and fairness.
This is so to avoid blood feud. The tool
or machinery of the state to prevent
such is justice system. This is actually
grounded on the concept of justice
based on what the state believes to be
just for the general welfare of the people
Concept of Criminal Justice
System
 In its broadest sense, it refers to those
aspects of social justice, which concern
violations of the criminal law.

 It comprises all the means used to

enforce those standards of conduct,
which are deemed necessary to protect
individual and to maintain general
community well being.
Concept of Criminal Justice
System
 It is the machinery which the society
uses in the prevention and control of
crime. The process is the totality of the
activities of law enforcers, prosecutors,
defense lawyers, judges and correction
personnel as well as the mobilized
community in crime prevention and
control.
Pillars of the Philippine
Criminal Justice System

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Pillars of Criminal Justice
System in the United States
 Law Enforcement

 Court

 Correction
Functions of the CJS pillars
 To prevent and control the commission
of crime

 To enforce the laws

 To safeguard lives, individual’s rights,

and properties
Functions of the CJS pillars
 To investigate, apprehend, prosecute
and sentence those who violated the
rules of the society; and

 To rehabilitate the convicts and

reintegrate into the community as law-
abiding citizens
Functions of the CJS pillars
 To investigate, apprehend, prosecute
and sentence those who violated the
rules of the society; and

 To rehabilitate the convicts and

reintegrate into the community as law-
abiding citizens
Primary goals of the CJS
 Maintenance of peace and order

 Protect members of the society

Secondary goals of the CJS
 Prevent crimes

 Review the legality of preventive and

suppressive measures

 Judicial determination of guilt or

innocence of those apprehended.
Secondary goals of the CJS
 Proper disposition of those who have been
legally found guilty.

 Correction by socially approve means of

the behavior of those who violate the
criminal law.

 Suppression of criminal conduct by

apprehending offenders for whom
prevention is ineffective.
Five identifiable stages in the
Criminal Justice System process
 Arrest stage
Five identifiable stages in the
Criminal Justice System process
 Charging stage
Five identifiable stages in the
Criminal Justice System process
 Adjudication stage
Five identifiable stages in the
Criminal Justice System process
 Sentencing stage
Five identifiable stages in the
Criminal Justice System process
 Corrections stage
System approach
characteristics
 System has identifiable components.

 Each system constitutes an identifiable

whole.

 The system’s components are

interdependent.

 Each system operates within an

environment.
System approach
characteristics
 For every system, there are inputs into
its decision-making.

 For each system, there is output.

 There is always feedback.

Difference between Criminal
Justice and Criminology
 Criminology – explains the etiology,
extent, and nature of the crime in society
 CJ- studies the agencies of social
control that handles criminal offenders
 Criminologist are concerned with
identifying the nature, extent and causes
of crime
 Criminal justice scholars engages in
describing, analyzing and explaining the
operations of the agencies of justice
Overlapping area of concern
between CJ experts and
criminologist
 CJ experts cannot begin to design
effective programs of crime prevention
or rehabilitation without understanding
the nature and causes of crime. They
require accurate criminal statistics and
data to test the effectiveness of crime
control and prevention programs.
Peace and Order Council
 It is the coordinating machinery in the
operation of the CJS.
Peace and Order Council
 It is the focal point for the effective
synchronization of the activities and
functions of the different pillars of the
system.

 It was created under Executive Order

no. 727 on September 10, 1981.
Functions of the Peace and
Order Council
 To prepare and submit to the Office of
the President, a national plan which
shall outline peace and order
campaigns, policies, thrust, and
strategies to include the effective
functioning of the CJS.

 To coordinate and monitor peace and

order plans, projects, and all related
activities.
Functions of the Peace and
Order Council
 To develop, design, and establish an
information system which shall provide
data needed by agencies concerned
with administration of justice and;

 To organize and manage a unit to

undertake criminological researches and
establish effective linkage with local and
foreign criminal intelligence agencies.
Three schools of thought
about justice
 Positive Law Theory – justice is a
creature of law made by men. Actions
are unjust if they violate or are
contradictory to the law, and justice is
served by adhering to law.
Three schools of thought
about justice
 Social Good Theory – agrees that
justice is more than what one finds in
positive law, that there are
standards/concepts of what is in the
best interests of society, and that
manmade laws can be judged against
these standards or concepts and found
lacking.
Three schools of thought
about justice
 Natural Right Theory – it holds that a
natural law exists that governs the
affairs of men as much as it does the
phenomena of the physical universe.
This law may be divine in origin, but
divine or not it is universal in application.
Perspective on Justice
 Crime Control Perspective – a model
of criminal justice that emphasizes
control of dangerous offenders and the
protection of society. It advocates call for
harsh punishments as deterrent to
crime, such as the death penalty.
 Rehabilitation Perspective - a model
of criminal justice that views its primary
purpose as helping to care for people
who cannot manage themselves. Crime
is an expression of frustration and anger
created by social inequality that can be
controlled by giving people the means to
improve their lifestyle through
conventional endeavors.
Perspective on Justice
 Due Process Perspective - the basic
constitutional principle based on the
concept of the privacy of the individual
and the complimentary concept of
limitation on governmental power; a
safeguard against arbitrary and unfair
state procedures in judicial or
administrative proceedings.
Perspective on Justice
 Nonintervention Perspective -
believed that justice agencies should
limit their involvement with criminal
defendants. A justice philosophy that
emphasizes the least intrusive treatment
possible. Among its central policies are
decarceration, diversion, and
decriminalization. In other words, less is
better.
Nonintervention Perspective
 Decriminalization- reducing the penalty
for a criminal act but not actually
legalizing it.

 Legalization – the removal of all criminal
penalties from a previously outlawed act.
Nonintervention Perspective
 Victimless crime – an act that is in
violation of society’s moral code and
therefore has been outlawed – ex. Drug
abuse, gambling, and prostitution.

 Deinstitutionalization – the movement
to remove as many offenders as possible
from secure confinement and treat them
in the community.
Nonintervention Perspective
 Pretrial diversion – a program that
provides non-punitive, community based
alternatives to more intrusive forms of
punishment such as jail or prison.

 Widening of the net justice - designed

to divert offenders from justice system
actually enmesh them further in the
process by substituting more intrusive
treatment programs for less intrusive
punishment-oriented outcomes.
Perspective on Justice
 Justice Perspective – a view of justice
that holds that all people should be
treated equally before the law. Equally
may be best achieved through the
control of individual discretion in the
justice process.
Perspective on Justice
 Restorative Justice Process - a view
of criminal justice that advocates
peaceful solutions and mediation rather
than coercive punishment. It draws its
inspiration from religious and
philosophical teachings ranging from
Quakerism to Zen.