DEFINITION AND ELEMENTS OF A CRIME

Criminal law

Unit 1 Definition and Elements of a Crime

Reading

Read and translate the following international words.

Criminal, act, government, order, reasonable, sense, contractual, number, immoral, statute, precedent, adequate, administer, explicit, declaration, nature, command, create, fundamental, conduct.

Read the text and translate it. While reading the text try and find answers to these questions.

1. In what cases can an act be treated as a crime?

2. May an act be considered a common law offense although that act is not forbidden by statute?

3. What is an underlying principle of criminal law?

DEFINITION AND ELEMENTS OF A CRIME

A “crime” is an act or omission in violation of a public law which commands or forbids that act or omission. It is said to be an offense which the government deems injurious not only to the victim but to the public at large and is punished through a judicial proceeding brought in the name of the government. Even an act or omission viewed by some as “victimless” can be made a crime and will be considered a wrong against society.

In order to be convicted of a crime the guilt of an accused of every element of the crime charged must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

No act can be considered a wrong against society in the sense of being a criminal offense unless it has been previously made a crime, either by statute or common law. Thus, under ordinary circumstances the failure to perform a contractual obligation, or the breach of a legal duty, standing alone, will not result in criminal culpability.

In a number of American jurisdictions, including the United States Government, common law crimes are not recognized and, no matter how hurtful or immoral its tendencies, an act cannot be treated as a crime unless made so by statute. In other jurisdictions the common law prevails unless changed by statute; thus, an act may be considered a common law offense although that act is not forbidden by statute. This result may occur where there has been blanket legislative adoption of the common law of crimes, consistent, of course, with statutes and the constitution. Thus, some states hold that any act which directly injures or tends to injure the public to such an extent as to require state interference may be punished as a common law misdemeanor, even though no exact precedent can be found.

Whether an act has been made a crime by statute or the common law, the language of the law, when measured by common understanding and practices, must give adequate warning of the conduct prohibited, and mark boundaries sufficiently distinct for judges and juries fairly to administer the law.

To constitute a crime, the act in question must ordinarily be one to which is annexed, upon conviction, a certain specified punishment. Thus, a statute which declares an act to be unlawful but prescribes no penalty, does not create a crime. On the other hand, prescribing a punishment for an act impliedly prohibits it, and it is sufficient to make it a crime without any explicit declaration that the act is unlawful. In this respect, a provision for a fine is usually sufficient, in spite of the fact that the amount may be small.

Provision for imprisonment in a statute does not make an act or proceeding criminal in nature when applied, not as punishment, but to compel immediate obedience to the law, as, for example, contempt proceedings.

An underlying principle of criminal law is that all are entitled to be informed as to what the state commands or forbids, and no one should be required at peril of life, liberty or property to speculate as to the meaning of the penal law. A crime cannot be created by inference, and fundamental fairness requires that no person should be held criminally responsible for conduct which cannot reasonably be understood to be proscribed [1].

Vocabulary notes

act	действие, деяние
omission	бездействие (часто – преступное)
unlawful	противоправный
offense	правонарушение, преступление (любое нарушение закона, за которое предусмотрено наказание)
injurious	наносящий вред
victim	жертва
judicial proceeding	судебная процедура
prove	доказывать
punish	наказывать, карать, налагать взыскание
wrong	правонарушение
convict	осуждать, признавать виновным, выносить приговор
reasonable doubt	разумные основания для сомнения
statute	действующий законодательный акт, действующий статут
circumstances (pl.)	обстоятельства (дéла)
legislative (a., n.)	законодательный (прил.), законодательные органы (сущ.)
blanket	общий, полный, всеобъемлющий, без оговорок; бланкетная (о правовой норме)
adopt	принимать (закон)
precedent	прецедент
prohibit	запрещать
obedience to the law	законопослушание
public law	публичный закон (закон, касающийся всего населения)
inference	предположение, умозаключение, вывод
prescribe	назначать
penalty	наказание
penal	уголовный
code	кодекс

Vocabulary work

3. Match the words on the left with the definitions on the right:

1) omission	a) leaving something undone
2) injure	b) to think about a matter without facts that would lead to a firm result
3) punish	c) to give a decision as in a court of law that a person is guilty of a crime
4) government	d) the people who rule
5) convict	e) personal or political freedom from outside control
6) legal	f) hurt
7) obedience	g) doing what a person is ordered to do
8) law	h) cause a person suffer for a crime
9) liberty	i) an offense which is punishable by law
10) speculate	j) allowed or made by law; lawful
11) person	k) a rule that is supported by the power of government and that governs the behavior of members of a society
12) crime	l) a human being [4]

4. Match the words and phrases with their translations:

1) деяние, не повлекшее за собой жертв	a) violation of a public law
2) мисдиминор по общему праву	b) to require state interference
3) назначить наказание	c) to prescribe penalty
4) найти совершенно аналогичный прецедент	d) to mark distinct boundaries for judges and juries
5) нарушение публичного закона	e) to injure the public
6) нарушение обязанности, налагаемой правом, правовой обязанности	f) to find an exact precedent
7) невыполнение договорного обязательства	g) to declare an act to be unlawful
8) обозначить четкие границы для судей и присяжных	h) to create a crime
9) объявить деяние незаконным	i) to compel immediate obedience to the law
10) отправлять правосудие, применять нормы права	j) to administer the law
11) пагубная, аморальная склонность	k) the failure to perform a contractual obligation
12) положение о тюремном заключении	l) the breach of a legal duty
13) предусмотреть состав преступления	m) provision for imprisonment
14) преступление по общему праву	n) criminal act or omission
15) преступление, состав которого определяется лишь путем логического умозаключения	o) a wrong against society
16) преступное действие или бездействие	p) a victimless act
17) причинение вреда (нанесение ущерба) обществу	q) a specified punishment
18) причинять вред обществу	r) a hurtful or immoral tendency
19) точно определенное наказание	s) a criminal offense
20) требовать вмешательства (властей) штата	t) a crime created by inference
21) требовать немедленного подчинения закону	u) a common law offense
22) уголовное преступление	v) a common law misdemeanor

5. Match the words on the right with the suitable attributes on the left:

1) common	a) offense
2) exact	b) omission
3) prohibited	c) precedent
4) criminal	d) principle
5) unlawful	e) act
6) sufficient	f) jurisdiction
7) adequate	g) law
8) underlying	h) amount
9) American	i) conduct
10) victimless	j) declaration
11) reasonable	k) doubt
12) explicit	l) punishment

Не нашли, что искали? Воспользуйтесь поиском по сайту: