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CRIMINAL LAW VI. Limitations on the Power of
Congress to Enact Penal Legislation
Penal laws enacted by congress
I. Criminal Law, Defined must:
Criminal Law is that branch or 1.) Give due process and equal
division of law which defines crimes, protection
treats of their nature, and provides for 2.) Not impose excessive fines or cruel
their punishment. and unusual punishment.
3.) Not enact ex post facto law or bill of
attainder.
II. Crime, Defined Penal laws – acts of the legislature
Crime is an act committed or omitted which prohibit certain acts and
in violation of a public law forbidding establish penalties for their violation.
or commanding it.
VII. Distinguish and Ex Post Facto Law
III. Sources of Philippine Criminal Law and a Bill of Attainder
1.) The Revised Penal Code An ex post facto law is a law which
2.) Special Penal Laws makes an act criminal, although at
3.) Presidential Decrees the time when it was committed, no
law has been enacted to make it
illegal. Whereas a bill of attainder is
a law which punishes the offender
IV. No Common Law Crimes in the
without giving him an opportunity to
Philippines
be heard, without giving him the
Body of principles, usages and rules
opportunity to state his side of the
of action, which do not rest for their
story, without due process of law.
authority upon declaration of the will
of the legislature.
Not recognized in the Philippines.
VIII. Characteristics of Criminal Law
Court decisions are not sources of
1.) General – criminal law is binding on
criminal law for they only explain the
all persons who live or sojourn in
meaning of, and apply, the law.
Philippine territory.
Exceptions:
a.) Generally accepted
V. Power to Define and Punish Crimes principles of public
The State has the authority, under its international law
police power, to define and punish
crimes and to lay down the rules of Chiefs of state, sovereigns
criminal procedure. and other diplomatic
Natural law belongs to the sovereign representatives such as
power charged by the common will of public ministers and
the members of society. ambassadors are immune
from the criminal jurisdiction
from the country where they
are assigned. While they are
in the host country, they
cannot be arrested,
prosecuted, nor punished for
having violated the laws of
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the said country because defamatory remarks against
they enjoy diplomatic a well-known successful and
immunity from suit. influential businessman, that
businessman cannot file
It is also settled that although against of libel, oral
a consul is a diplomatic defamation, or slander
representative, a consul does against him because it is a
not enjoy the same law of preferential
diplomatic immunity from suit application, the Constitution
as sovereigns and other itself provides, said Senator
heads of state. Therefore, a cannot be prosecuted.
consul can be prosecuted
before the courts of the host
country the moment he 2.) Territorial – criminal laws undertake
commits a violation of the to punish crimes committed within
penal laws of said host Philippine territory.
country. EXCEPT: (1) When The principle of territoriality
the act committed by said means that as a rule, penal laws
consul is in the performance of the Philippines are
of his functions, and (2) If enforceable only within its
there is a treaty stipulation territory.
between the mother country Exception: Article 2 of the
of the consul and the host Revised Penal Code.
country saying that this
particular consul is immune
from suit.
Article 2. Application of its
provisions. - Except as provided
in the treaties and laws of
b.) Laws of preferential
preferential application, the
application provisions of this Code shall be
enforced not only within the
There are certain laws which Philippine Archipelago, including
exempt certain or particular its atmosphere, its interior waters
individuals from prosecution. and maritime zone, but also
Example of this is Art. 6 of outside of its jurisdiction, against
the 1987 CONSTITUTION, those who:
members of the Congress
cannot be prosecuted for 1. Should commit an offense
libel, slander, defamation, for while on a Philippine ship or
every speech or debate they airship;
made in the halls of
2. Should forge or counterfeit
Congress while Congress is
any coin or currency note of the
in their regular or special Philippine Islands or obligations
session. In Political Law, this and securities issued by the
is known as the Government of the Philippine
congressional privilege of Islands;
speech and debate.
3. Should be liable for acts
So if, in a privileged speech, connected with the introduction
Sen. Lacson made into these islands of the
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obligations and securities
mentioned in the presiding
number; Preliminary Title
DATE OF EFFECTIVENESS AND APPLICATION
4. While being public officers or
OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS CODE
employees, should commit an
offense in the exercise of their
functions; or
Article 1. Time when Act takes effect – This
5. Should commit any of the Code shall take effect on the first day of
crimes against national security January, nineteen hundred and thirty-two.
and the law of nations, defined in
Title One of Book Two of this
Code. (1) Two Theories/Philosophies in Criminal
Law
The Classical Theory
3.) Prospective – penal laws shall have The positivist Theory
no retroactive application, lest they
acquire the character of an ex post
facto law. CHARACTERISTICS
Principle: Article 21 R.P.C.:
Penalties that may be imposed –
No felony shall be punishable by CLASSICAL OR POSITIVIST OR
any penalty not prescribed by JURISTIC REALISTIC
PHILOSOPHY PHILOSOPHY
law prior to its commission.
The basis of criminal The basis of criminal
Exception: Article 22 R.P.C.:
liability is the moral trait liability is man’s social
Penal laws shall have a
of the offender. Man is a environment. All men
retroactive effect insofar as they moral creature who are born good, no man
favor the person guilty of a understands right from is born evil. What makes
felony, who is not a habitual wrong, good from man do evil things is the
criminal. evil. Hence, when he association that he has
does a wrong willfully, with his fellow beings,
voluntarily. with his social
environment.
The purpose of penalty The purpose of penalty
THE REVISED PENAL CODE is to exact retribution. is rehabilitation. The
This revolves around the positivist philosophy
(Act No. 3815, as amended) philosophy “an eye for believes that an offender
AN ACT REVISING THE PENAL CODE AND an eye, a tooth for a is a socially sick
tooth”. For every wrong individual who must be
OTHER PENAL LAWS
done, there is a rehabilitated, cured, and
commensurate penalty. not punished.
The determination of The determination of
BOOK ONE penalty is done penalty is done
mechanically. The individually, after the
General Provisions Regarding the Date of
penalty imposed on the offender has been
Enforcement and the Application of the offender is always in examined and
Provisions of this Code, and Regarding the direct proportion to the investigated.
Offenses, the Persons Liable and the Penalties injury or damage caused
to the victim. So, if the
said offender kills the
victim, the penalty to be
imposed to him will also
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be death. Equipose rule - whenever the evidence
of the prosecution is equally balanced
with the evidence of the defense, the
The emphasis of the law The emphasis of the law scale of justice shall be tilted in favor of
is on the offense and not is on the offender and
the accused.
the offender. The not on the offense; on
emphasis of the the criminal and not on
law is on the crime and the crime. This takes Utilitarian or Protective Theory - the
not the criminal. The into consideration the purpose of penalty in criminal law is to
classical philosophy reason, the motive why protect society from actual and potential
does not take into the offender committed wrongdoers. Hence, courts should see
consideration the reason the act. to it that in imposing the penalty, they
why the offender are only imposed on potential and actual
committed the crime. It wrongdoers.
suffices that he
committed the crime,
violated the law, and for
that he has to be
punished regardless of
motive, regardless of
reason for the
commission.
If both characteristics are mixed, we have
the eclectic philosophy. Under this, crimes
which are heinous in nature shall be dealt
with in the classical manner, and crimes
which are considered social or economic in
nature, shall be dealt with in the positivist or
realistic manner.
(2) Doctrines in Criminal Law
Doctrine of pro reo – penal laws shall
always be applied liberally, interpreted
liberally in favor of the accused and
strictly against the state. In dubio pro
reo – “In case of doubt, rule in favor of
the accused.” Reason, constitutional
presumption of innocence. All accused
under the Constitution are presumed
innocent unless proven guilty beyond
reasonable doubt.
Lenity Rule – whenever a penal
provision is susceptible of two
interpretations, one is lenient to the
accused and the other is strict to the
accused, the lenient interpretation shall
prevail.
