Metalanguage

The most essential terms relevant to the study of this course and to demonstrate ULOb are
operationally defined to establish a common frame of reference as to how the texts work in
the course. You will encounter these terms as we go through the study of course. Hence, to
be able to fully appreciate the topics presented in this course, unlocking the meaning of these
terms is crucial.

§ Criminal Law – is that branch or division of law which defines crime, treats of their
nature, and provides for their punishment.
§ Motive – refers to the moving power which impels one to act for a definite result.
§ Criminal - refers to a person who has violated a penal law and has been found
guilty of the crime charged upon observance of the standard judicial procedure.
§ Natural laws - are rooted in core values shared by many cultures, it protects
against harm to and form the basis of common law system.
§ Divine laws- are those rules enshrined in the Holy Book. For the Christians, they
called Bible.

Essential Knowledge
To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the two weeks of the course,
you need to fully understand the following essential knowledge that will be laid down in the
succeeding pages. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer to these resources.
Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and other resources that are
available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary, search.proquest.com etc.
1. Sociology of Law – refers to both a sub-discipline of sociology and an approach within the
field of legal studies. Sociology of law is a diverse field of study which examines the interaction
of law with other aspects of society: such as the effect of legal institution, doctrine, and
practices on other social phenomena and vice versa. Some of each areas of inquiry include
the social development of legal institution, the social construction of legal issues, and the
relation of law to social change. Sociology of law overplays with jurisprudence economic
analysis of law and more specialized subjects such as criminology. Two types of law:

1.1 Natural laws are rooted in core values shared by many cultures. Naturals laws
protect against harm to person (e.g. murder, rape, assault) or property (theft, larcent,
robbery), and form the basis of
common law system.

1.2 Statutes (Statutory laws) are enacted by legislature and reflect current cultural
mores, albeit that some laws may be controversial, e.g. laws that prohibit marijuana use
and gambling. Marxist Criminology, Conflict Criminology and Critical Criminology claim
that most relationships between state and citizen are non-consensual and as such,
criminal law is not necessarily representative of public beliefs and wishes: iti s exercised
in the interest of the ruling or dominant class. The more right-wing criminologist tend to
post that there is a consensual social contract between State and citizen. Therefore, the
definitions of crimes will vary from
place to place, in accordance to
the cultural norms and mores, but
may be broadly classified as
blue-collar crime, public order
crime, state crime, state
 corporate crime, and white-collar crime.

1.3 Divine laws are those rules enshrined in the Holy Book. For the Christians, they
called Bible. Hence, Christians have their Ten Commandments, however, Devine laws
vary depending on the religious denomination each person belongs to, since the world
is composed of various religious convictions.

2. General Types of Crime. Both the Positivist and Classical Schools take a consensus view
of crime – that s crime is an act that violates the basic values and beliefs of society. Those
values and beliefs are manifested as laws that society agrees upon. The General types of
crimes are follows:

Blue -Collar Crime Crime committed by an individual from a lower

social class as opposed to a white-collar crime
which is associated with crime committed by
individuals of a higher social class.
Corporate Crime Crime committed either by a corporation (i.e a
business entity having a separate legal personality
from the natural persons that manage its
activities), or by individual that may be identified
with a corporation or other business entity.

Organized Crime or These are group or operations run by criminals,

most commonly for the purpose of generating a
Criminal Organizations
monetary profit.

Political Crime Is one involving overt acts or omission (where there

is a duty to act), which prejudice the interest of the
state, its government or the political system.

Public Order Crime Involves acts that interfere with the operations of
society and the ability of people to function
efficiently”, i..e it is a behavior that has been labeled
criminal because it is contrary to shared norms,
social values, and customs.

State Crime In criminology, state crime is activity or failures to

act that break the state’s own criminal law or
public international law.
 The concept of state corporate crime or
incorporated governance refers to crimes that
State Corporate Crime
result from the relationship between the policies of
the state and the policies and practices of
commercial corporation.

White Collar Crime White collar crime or incorporated governance has

been defined by Sutherland – as a crime committed
by a person of respectability and high social status
in the course of his occupation.

Victimless Crime A behavior of an individual which is forbidden by

law, but which neither violates nor significantly
threatens the rights of other individual.

3. Crime and Criminal law

• Crime – is an act committed or omitted in violation of public law forbidding or
commanding it.
• Criminal Law – is that branch or division of law which defines crime, treats of their
nature, and provides for their punishment.
 3 .1 Sources of Criminal Law
a) the Revised Penal Code (Act No. 3815) and
amendments.
b) Special penal laws passed by the Philippine
commission, Philippine assembly, Philippine Legislature,
national Assembly, the congress of the Philippines, and the
Batasang Pambansa.
c) Penal Presidential Decrees issued during Martial law.

3.2 Characteristics of Criminal Law

Å Generality – The provision of the criminal or penal law must be applied equally to all
persons within the territory irrespective of sex, race, nationality, and other personal
circumstances. Its exception such as;
a) head of state or country,
b) foreign diplomats, ambassadors who are duly accredited to a country,
c) foreign troops permitted to march within territory.

Å Territoriality – the penal law cannot make an act punishable in a way it was not
punishable when committed (expost facto law). Thus, crimes are punished under the laws
in force at the time of their commission. As a part of the state to self-preservation each
independent country has the right to promulgate laws enforceable within its territorial
jurisdiction subject only to the limitations imposed by treatise of preferential application
and by the operation of international law of the nation. In the Philippines, the Revised
Penal Code is applicable only to the areas within the Philippine territorial jurisdiction such
as:

a) Philippine archipelago – this includes all island that

comprises the Philippines. Archipelagic doctrine- means
the outermost extremities of an island is to be connected by
a straight line of another outermost extremities of another
island and all the water, island, sub-soil, airspace around
between connecting the island shall form part of the integral
water of the Philippines, the water within the 12 miles limit
going sea bound or sea ward shall become the Territorial
water of the Philippines and 200 nautical miles for exclusive
economic zone.
b) Atmosphere – the space above those island,
c) Interior water – All bodies of water that connect all
island such as bays, rivers and streams,
d) Maritime zone – the twelve mile limit beyond our shore
measured at low tide.

THEORIES OF TERRITORIALITY:
a) The French theory – which holds that a crime committed on board a French vessel,
even if found within the territorial water of another country at the time of the commission
shall be prosecuted in accordance with laws of the country of registry, the vessel
considered as an extension of the country whose if flies.
b) English Theory – which holds that a crime committed on board a foreign vessel is
triable by the courts of the country where the vessel was at the time of felony, if the crime
the crime affects to public order. See Article 2 of RPC for exception of the law.
 3.3 Prospectivity – the penal law cannot make an act
punishable in a way it was not punishable when committed (ex
post facto law). Thus crimes are punished under the laws in
force at the time of their commission.

3.4 History of Revised Penal Code. The Revised Penal code was a revision of the Old penal
Code through a committee which was created by Administrative Order No. 94 of the
Department of Justice, dated October 18, 1927, composed
of Anacleto Diaz, as Chairman, and Quintin Paredes,
Guillermo Guevarra, Alex Reyes and Mariano H De Hoya,
as members. The present penal code in our country is
commonly known as the Revised Penal code it became
effective since January 01, 1932. The old Penal code which
was modified by the committee, took effect in the Philippines on July 14, 1887, and was in force
up to December 31, 1931.

3.4.1. Theories of the Penal Code

A. Classical Theory – Characteristics:
a) the basis of criminal liability is human free will and the purpose of the penalty is retribution.
b) that man is essentially a moral creature with an absolutely free will to choose between good
and evil, thereby placing more stress upon the effect or result of the felonious act than upon
the man, the criminal himself.
c) it has endeavored to establish a mechanical and direct proportion between crime and
penalty.
d) there is a scant regard to human element.

B. Positivist theory- Characteristics:

a) that man subdued occasionally by a strange and morbid phenomenon which constrains him
to do wrong, despite or contrary to his volition.
b) that crime is essentially a social and natural phenomenon and as such it cannot be treated
and checked by the application of abstract principles of law and jurisprudence nor by the
imposition of punishment, fixed and determined a priori, but rather through the enforcement of
individual measures in each particular case after a thorough, personal and individual
investigation conducted by competent body of psychiatrists and social scientists.

4. Felony as a Crime – Crime is defined as an act committed or omitted in violation of a

public law forbidding or commanding it. It is also defined as an act that violated the law of the
nation. Felony – is an act and omission punishable by law specifically Revised Penal Code.
Felony is committed not only by means of fault (culpa) but also by means of dolo (deceit). (Art
3 RPC)

4.1 A Legal classification of Crimes of Felony

As to the manner of commission:

a) by means of dolo or deceit – when the act was done with
deliberate intent.
b) By means of culpa or fault – when the wrongful act result
from jurisprudence, negligence, lack of foresight or lack of
skill.

As to stages in the commission of crimes:

 a) Attempted crime – when the offender commences
the commission of the felony directly by overt acts and
does not perform all the acts of execution which could
produce the felony by reason of some causes or
accident other than his own spontaneous desistance.
b) Frustrated crime – when the offender has
performed all the act of execution which will produce
the felony as a consequence but which nevertheless,
do not produce the felony by reason of causes
independent of the will of the perpetrator.
c) Consummated crime – when all the element
necessary for its execution and accomplishment are
all present.

As to plurality of crimes:
a) Simple crime – when a single act
constitutes only one offense.
b) Complex crime – when a single act
constitutes two or more grave or less
grave felonies or when an offense is a
necessary means for committing the
other.

As to the gravity of penalty or offense:

a) Grave felonies – those which the law attaches the capital
punishment or afflictive penalties.
b) Less grave felonies – those which the law punishes with
penalties which are correctional in nature.
c) Light felonies – those infractions of law for the commission
of which the penalty of arresto mayor of fine not exceeding
200 pesos are imposed.
 As to the basis of criminal act:
a) crimes against national security and the law of nations e.g. treason
b) crimes against the fundamental laws of the state e.g. arbitrary detention
c) crimes against public order e.g. rebellion, sedition, coup d etat
d) crimes against public interest e.g. forgery
e) crimes relative yo opium and other prohibited drugs
f) crimes against public morals e.g. gambling/betting
g) crime committed by public officers e.g malfeasance
h) crimes against person e.g rape, murder, homicide
i) crimes against liberty and security e.g. kidnapping and serious illegal detention
j) crimes against property e.g. theft, robbery, arson
k) crimes against chastity e.g. abduction, concubinage
l) crime against civil status of person e.g. simulation of birth
m) crime against honor e.g libel
n) quasi- offense e.g imprudence and negligence.
4.2 Criminological classification of crime:

As to the result:
a) acquisitive crime - when the offender acquires something because of his criminal act.
e.g. theft and robbery
b) extinctive crime – when the result of a criminal act is destructive. e.g arson.

As to the time of period of commission:

a) seasonal crime – those committed only during a certain period of the year e.g. non
payment of tax
b) situational crime – those committed only when the given situation conducive to its
commission.

As to the length of time of commission:

a) instant crime – those committed in the shortest possible time.
 b) episodic crime – those committed by a series of acts in a lengthy space of time.

As to the place or location of the commission:

a) static crime – those committed only in one place.
b) continuing crime – those that can be committed in several places.

As to the use of mental faculties:

a) rational crime – those committed with intent and offenders are in full possession of their
sanity.
b) irrational crime – those committed by a persons who do not know the nature and quality
of their act on account of the disease of their mind.

As to the social status of the offender:

a) white collar crime – those committed by a persons of respectability and upper socio
economic class in the course of their occupation activities,
b) blue collar crime – those committed by ordinary professional criminals to maintain their
livelihood.

As to the standard of living of the criminals:

a) crime of the upper world – those committed with a degree of skills,
b) crime of the underworld – those committed through limited ability.

5. Crime, Sin and Immorality

5.1 When does crime exist – in the legal viewpoint crime exists the moment a person
has been proven guilty by the court. The main objection to this view is that there is a
terrific morality of cases between the times a crime has been reported up to the time a
verdict of conviction is made by the court. In scientific point of view – crime exists the
moment it is reported. This is more realistic but not all reported cases are with sound
basis of true happening. Some also they are unfounded.
5.2 Elements of crime – criminological concept posits that crime exists through the
presence of:
Motive – refers to the moving power which impels one to act for a definite result. Motive
is different from intent; Intent refers to the purpose in using a means to affect such result.
Intent is an element of an intentional felony while motive is not. Motive becomes important
only if the identity of the felon has not been clearly established.

Opportunity – refers to the chance or time given to the offender in committing the crime.

Instrumentality or Capability – Instrumentality refers to the use of materials or other

means in the commission of crime while Capability speaks of the physical capability of a
person to perpetrate a crime. e.g. Pedro, an impotent, cannot be convicted of rape
through forcible sexual intercourse since his sexual organ has no capacity to erect.
NOTE. Crime will not occur if one of the elements is not present.

5.3 Why does crime exist – there is crime because of the existence of law. The principle
of Logomacy states that, “there is no crime if there is no law punishing it.” Similarly, the
Spanish text states, “nullum crimen nulla poena sine lege”, Thus in order to eliminate
crime in a certain area it also requires the abolition of law.
 However, law is form of social control and the absence of regulation in the
community leads to the chaos between the
people within the area. Furthermore,
without a decree to control the people the
“Law of the Jungle” will prevail. The law of
the Jungle speaks about “survival of the
fittest” or in Tagalog parlance “matira ang
matibay”.
In the forest, there is no law
applicable to control those animals which
lead to the preying of those weak creatures
by those tough animals. It is therefore,
assumed that only the Lion (the King of the
forest) will survive in the jungle because it
can physically outsmart other beings in the
jungle.

5.3.1 Between Crim and Sin – Crime is an act or omission against the penal of the state
while Sin is an act or omission against the spiritual or divine law.

5.3.2 Between Crime and Immorality – crime is committed against the law of the state
while immorality is committed against the unwritten social norm in the locality. Crime is
fixed by statute, while immorality is not. Crime is nationalistic while immorality is
regionalistics.

5.4 Why members of society must be concerned with the study of crime:
5.4.1 Crime is pervasive – almost all member of a free society are once upon a time a victim
or an offender in a criminal act. Crime as an associate of society affects almost all people
regardless of age, sex, race, nationality, religion, financial condition, education and other
personal circumstances.

5.4.2 Crime is expensive – the government and private sector spend an enormous amount
of money fro crime detection, prosecution, correction and prevention. Those expenses either:
a) direct expense – those spent by government or private sector for the maintenance or the
police and security guards for crime detection, prosecution and judiciary, and support of
prison systems. b) Indirect expenses – those expenses utilized to prevent the commission of
crimes like the construction of window grills, fence, gates, purchase of door locks, safety
vaults, hiring of watchmen, feeding of watchdog etc.

5.4.3 Crime is destructive – many live have been lost because of crimes like
murder,homicide, and other violent deaths. Property has been lost or destroyed on account
of robbery, theft and arson.

5.4.4 Crime is reflective – crime rate or incidence in a given locality is reflective of the
effectiveness of the social defenses employed by the people primarily of the police system.

5.4.5 Crime is progressive – crime increases in volume on account of the increasing

population. The ever increasing crime rate and its technique shows the progressive thinking
of the society for advancement.
6. Criminals. In the legal sense, criminal refers to any person who has been found to have
committed a wrongful act in the course of the standard judicial processes, there must be final
verdict of his guilt. In criminological sense, a person is already considered as criminal the
moment he committed any anti-social act even without conviction.

6.1 Criminal and delinquent – criminal refers to a person who has violated a penal law and
has been found guilty of the crime charged upon observance of the standard judicial
procedure while delinquency is a person who merely committed an act in conformity with
the norms of society. General classification of criminal

6.1.1 On the basis of etiology :

a) acute criminals – those who violate criminal law because of the impulse of the moment,
fit of passion or anger or spell of extreme jealousy.
b) Chronic criminal – those criminals who act in consonance with deliberate thinking.

6.1.2 On the basis of behavioral system :

a) Ordinary criminals – the lowest form of criminal career, they engage only on conventional
crimes which require limited skill. They lack organization to avoid arrest and convictions.
b) Organized criminals – they have a high degree of organization to enable them to commit
crimes without being detected and committed to specialized activities which can be operated
in large scale business. Force, violence, intimidation, and bribery are used to gain and
maintain control over economic activities. Special type of this include various forms of
racketeering, control of gambling, prostitution and distribution of prohibited drugs.
c) Professional criminal – they are highly skilled and able to obtain considerable amount of
money without being detected because they are organized and in contact with other
professional criminals. These offenders are always able to escape conviction. They
specialized in crime that requires skills, pickpocketing, shoplifting, theft, counterfeiting and
others.
6.1.3 On the basis of activities:
a) professional criminals – those who earn their living through criminal activities.
b) accidental criminal – those who commit criminal acts as a result of unanticipated
circumstances.
c) habitual criminals – those who continue to commit criminal acts for such a diverse
reason due to deficiency of intelligence and lack of self-control. d) situational criminals – those
who are not criminals, but constantly in trouble with legal authorities because they commit
robberies, larcenies, and embezzlements, which are intermixed with legitimate economic
activities.

6.1.4 On the basis of mental attitudes:

a) Active aggressive criminals – those commit crime in an impulsive manner, usually due to
the aggressive behavior of the offender. Such attitude is clearly shown in crimes of passion,
revenge and resentments.
b) passive inadequate criminals – those who commit crimes because they are pushed to it by
inducement, by reward or promise without considering its consequence.
c) socialized delinquent criminals- those who are normal in their behavior, but merely
defective in their socialization processes. To this group belongs the educated, respectable
member of society who may become criminal on account of the situation they are involved in
.
Guevara, R., & Bautista, F. (2013). Sociology of Crimes and Ethics. Wiseman’s Books
Trading, Inc. Quezon City, Philippines.
Tancangco, Danilo L. (2018). Victimology. Wiseman’s Books Trading, Inc. Quezon City,
Philippines.
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/criminal-law/