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Criminal Law 1

Lilibeth C Lorena
Senior Assistant Provincial Prosecutor
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General Aspects

A branch of municipal law which defines

crimes, treats of their nature and provides
for their punishment.
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Characteristics of Criminal Law

General – the law is binding to all persons

who reside in the Philippines
Territorial – the law is binding to all
crimes committed within the National
Territory of the Philippines
Exemptions
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Prospective
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BASIC MAXIMS IN CRIMINAL
LAW
Doctrine of Pro Reo
Whenever a penal law is to be construed or
applied and the law admits of two
interpretations – one lenient to the offender
and one strict to the offender ….
What will we adopt?
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Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege

There is no crime when there is no law

punishing the same
No matter how wrongful, evil or bad the
act is, if there is no law defining the act, the
same is not considered a crime.
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Actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit
rea
The act cannot be criminal where the mind
is not criminal.  This is true to a felony
characterized by dolo, but not a felony
resulting from culpa.
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Dolo vs Culpa

Intentional Felonies (with malice by means

of deceit or dolo)
Culpable Felonies (without malice by
means of fault or culpa)
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More on culpa….

Imprudence – deficiency of action; e.g. A

was driving a truck along a road.  He hit B
because it was raining – reckless
imprudence.
Negligence – deficiency of perception;
failure to foresee impending danger,
usually involves lack of foresight
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Sources of Criminal Law

The Revised Penal Code

Special Penal Laws – Acts enacted of the
Philippine Legislature punishing offenses
or omissions.
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MALA IN SE AND MALA
PROHIBITA
Violations of the Revised Penal Code are
referred to as malum in se, which literally
means, that the act is inherently evil or bad
or per se wrongful.  On the other hand,
violations of special laws are generally
referred to as malum prohibitum.
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As to moral trait of the offender

In crimes punished under the Revised Penal

Code, the moral trait of the offender is
considered. This is why liability would only arise
when there is dolo or culpa in the commission of
the punishable act.
In crimes punished under special laws, the moral
trait of the offender is not considered; it is enough
that the prohibited act was voluntarily done.
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As to degree of accomplishment of the
crime
 Incrimes punished under the Revised Penal Code, the
degree of accomplishment of the crime is taken into
account in punishing the offender; thus, there are
attempted, frustrated, and consummated stages in the
commission of the crime.
 Incrimes punished under special laws, the act gives rise
to a crime only when it is consummated; there are no
attempted or frustrated stages, unless the special law
expressly penalize the mere attempt or frustration of the
crime.
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As to mitigating and aggravating
circumstances
 Incrimes punished under the Revised Penal
Code, mitigating and aggravating circumstances
are taken into account in imposing the penalty
since the moral trait of the offender is considered.
 In
crimes punished under special laws, mitigating
and aggravating circumstances are not taken into
account in imposing the penalty.
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As to degree of participation

 Incrimes punished under the Revised Penal Code, when

there is more than one offender, the degree of participation
of each in the commission of the crime is taken into
account in imposing the penalty; thus, offenders are
classified as principal, accomplice and accessory.
 Incrimes punished under special laws, the degree of
participation of the offenders is not considered.  All who
perpetrated the prohibited act are penalized to the same
extent.  There is no principal or accomplice or accessory
to consider.
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Art 3.  Acts and omissions punishable
by law are felonies.
Acts – an overt or external act
Omission – failure to perform a duty required
by law. Example of an omission: failure to
render assistance to anyone who is in danger of
dying or is in an uninhabited place or is
wounded – abandonment.
Felonies – acts and omissions punishable by
the Revised Penal Code
+ What requisites must concur before a felony may
be committed?

There must be
 (1) an act or omission;
 (2) punishable by the Revised Penal Code;
and
 (3) the act is performed or the omission
incurred by means of dolo or culpa.
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Art. 4.  Criminal liability shall be
incurred:
     1. 
By any person committing a
felony, although the wrongful act done be
different from that which he intended.
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Causes which produce a different
result:
1. Mistake in identity of the victim – injuring one
person who is mistaken for another (A intended to
shoot B, but he instead shot C because he (A)
mistook C for B.
       In error in personae, the intended victim was
not at the scene of the crime.  It was the actual
victim upon whom the blow was directed, but he
was not really the intended victim. 
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2. Mistake in blow – hitting somebody other
than the target due to lack of skill or fortuitous
B and C were walking together.  A wanted
to shoot B, but he instead injured C.
          
In aberratio ictus, a person directed
the blow at an intended victim, but because
of poor aim, that blow landed on somebody
else.  In aberratio ictus, the intended victim
as well as the actual victim are both at the
scene of the crime.
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3. Injurious result is greater than that
intended – causing injury graver than
intended or expected A wanted to injure B. 
However, B died.
        
praeter intentionem is mitigating,
particularly covered by paragraph 3 of
Article 13. 
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Impossible Crimes

By any person performing an act which

would be an offense against persons or
property, were it not for the inherent
impossibility of its accomplishment or on
account of the employment of
inadequate or ineffectual means
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Requisites….

Act would have been an offense against persons

or property
Act is not an actual violation of another
provision of the Code or of a special penal law
There was criminal intent
Accomplishment was inherently impossible; or
inadequate or ineffectual means were employed.
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Notes on impossible crimes….

Offender must believe that he can

consummate the intended crime, a man
stabbing another who he knew was already
dead cannot be liable for an impossible
crime.
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More notes…

When we say inherent impossibility, this

means that under any and all
circumstances, the crime could not have
materialized.  If the crime could have
materialized under a different set of facts,
employing the same mean or the same act,
it is not an impossible crime; it would be
an attempted felony.
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Problems…

 A usedpoison to kill B.  However, B survived

because A used small quantities of poison is this
an impossible crime?
 A wanted to kill B through poison. He took a
bottle of white substance which he thought was
powdered cyanide and poured a teaspoon of it on
B’s glass of wine. The white substance turned out
to be tawas. Is this an impossible crime?
 
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Remember….

this idea of an impossible crime is a one of last resort,

just to teach the offender a lesson because of his
criminal perversity.  If he could be taught of the same
lesson by charging him with some other crime
constituted by his act, then that will be the proper
way.  If you want to play safe, you state there that
although an impossible crime is constituted, yet it is a
principle of criminal law that he will only be penalized
for an impossible crime if he cannot be punished
under some other provision of the Revised Penal Code.
+ Art. 6.  Consummated felonies, as well as those which are
frustrated and attempted, are punishable.

 Development of a crime
 Internal acts – intent and plans; usually not
punishable
 External acts
 Preparatory Acts – acts tending toward the
crime
 Acts of Execution – acts directly connected the
crime
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Attempted Frustrated Consummated

1. Overt acts of All acts of All the acts of

execution are execution are
started; present; execution are
Not all acts of Crime sought to be present
execution are committed is not The result
present; achieved;
Due to reasons Due to intervening sought is
other than the causes achieved
spontaneous independent of the
desistance of the will of the
perpetrator perpetrator
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Problems ulit

A put poison in B’s food.  B threw away

his food. 
A aimed his gun at B.  C held A’s hand and
prevented him from shooting B
A shot B.
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Sakit na sa ulo ang problems…

A intended to kill B by shooting him.  A

missed.
A doused B’s house with kerosene.  But
before he could light the match, he was
caught –
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More….

A hacked B causing amputation of his

thumb….
A touched the breasts of a child
A attempted to touch the breasts of a child
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Remember

  Incrimes involving the taking of human life – parricide,

homicide, and murder – in the definition of the frustrated
stage, it is indispensable that the victim be mortally
wounded.  Under the definition of the frustrated stage, to
consider the offender as having performed all the acts of
execution, the acts already done by him must produce or
be capable of producing a felony as a consequence. The
general rule is that there must be a fatal injury inflicted,
because it is only then that death will follow.
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
        
If the wound is not mortal, the crime is
only attempted.  The reason is that the wound
inflicted is not capable of bringing about the
desired felony of parricide, murder or
homicide as a consequence; it cannot be said
that the offender has performed all the acts
of execution which would produce parricide,
homicide or murder as a result. 
+ Art 7.  Light felonies are punishable only when
they have been consummated

 Examples of light felonies: slight physical

injuries; theft; alteration of boundary marks; 
malicious mischief; and intriguing against honor.
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Art. 8.  Conspiracy and proposal to commit

felony are punishable only in the cases in
which the law specially provides a penalty
therefore.
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Conspiracy defined

A conspiracy exists when two or more

persons come to an agreement
concerning the commission of a felony
and decide to commit it.
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Proposal to commit a felony defined….

There is proposal when the person who

has decided to commit a felony proposes
its execution to some other person or
persons.
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Instances where mere conspiracy is
already punishable
treason,

rebellion or insurrection,
 sedition,
and monopolies and combinations in
restraint of trade.
Coup d’ etat
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Two ways for conspiracy to exist

 1)           There is an agreement.

 (2)         The
participants acted in concert or
simultaneously which is indicative of a meeting of the
minds towards a common criminal goal or criminal
objective.  When several offenders act in a
synchronized, coordinated manner, the fact that their
acts complimented each other is indicative of the
meeting of the minds.  There is an implied agreement.
 
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Two kinds of conspiracy

 1.
Conspiracy as a crime in itself (treason,
rebellion, sedition, and coup d’ etat)
 2.Conspiracy as a manner of incurring criminal
liability
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Notes

        
When conspiracy itself is a crime, no overt act
is necessary to bring about the criminal liability. 
The mere conspiracy is the crime itself.  This is only
true when the law expressly punishes the mere
conspiracy; otherwise, the conspiracy does not bring
about the commission of the crime because
conspiracy is not an overt act but a mere
preparatory act.  Treason, rebellion, sedition, and
coup d’etat are the only crimes where the conspiracy
and proposal to commit to them are punishable.
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
    When the conspiracy is only a basis of incurring
     
criminal liability, there must be an overt act done
before the co-conspirators become criminally liable.
For as long as none of the conspirators has
committed an overt act, there is no crime yet.  But
when one of them commits any overt act, all of them
shall be held liable, unless a co-conspirator was
absent from the scene of the crime or he showed up,
but he tried to prevent the commission of the crime.
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          
As a general rule, if there has been
a conspiracy to commit a crime in a
particular place, anyone who did not
appear shall be presumed to have desisted. 
The exception to this is if such person who
did not  appear was the mastermind.
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mere knowledge, acquiescence to, or

approval of the act, without cooperation or
at least, agreement to cooperate, is not
enough to constitute a conspiracy. There
must be an intentional participation in the
crime with a view to further the common
felonious objective.
+ Art.  9.  Grave felonies are those to which the law attaches
the capital punishment or penalties which in any of their are
afflictive

 Lessgrave felonies are those which the law

punishes with penalties which in their
maximum period are correctional, in
accordance with the above-mentioned article.
 Lightfelonies are those infractions of law for
the commission of which he penalty ofarresto
mayor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos, or
both is provided.
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 Capital punishment – death penalty.

 Penalties:

 Grave – six years and one day to reclusion

perpetua 
 Less grave – one month and one day to six
years; 
 Light – arresto menor (one day to 30 days).
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Art. 10.  Offenses which are or in the

future may be punishable under special
laws are not subject to the provisions of
this Code.  This Code shall be
supplementary to such laws, unless the
latter should specially provide the
contrary.
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Circumstances affecting criminal
liability

   Justifying circumstances;
 Exempting circumstances;

 Mitigating circumstances;
 Aggravating circumstances; and
Alternative circumstances.
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