What is criminal law in theory and practice?
Criminal law is public law passed by the federal, state, or local government. It restricts or requires affirmative conduct of its citizens under the threat of prosecution. These prohibitions may be in the form of a statute, common law rule, regulatory rule or decision, or local ordinance.
What types of conduct are prohibited by criminal law?
Criminal laws prohibit conduct that is either considered, malum in se or malum prohibitum.
The authority for each type of law may differ, but generally criminal laws are enforced by the government and exist to protect the health, safety, and welfare of citizens.
This includes protecting the property and rights of those citizens.
Failing to comply with criminal laws can result in fines or imprisonment.
What is Malum in se?
This means that conduct is inherently wrong without regard to a statute proscribing the conduct.
- Example: Most people consider murder and theft to be innately wrong or evil without regard to a government’s prohibition of the conduct.
What is Malum prohibitum?
This means that conduct is not necessarily wrong or evil, but it is made illegal based upon law.
- Example: A public company’s failure to adequately disclose the corporate information to the public is made illegal by statute. Without such a statute, it may not be considered inherently wrong.
