The
Nigerian society is made up of a collection of different people that are
diverse in a lot of respects. In the course of the daily interactions between
these peoples, some people intentionally or inadvertently step on the toes of
some others. In order for peace and order to be maintained in the society,
redress has to be put in place to check the excesses of the defaulting
party(s).
It is on this premise that criminal law has to be put in
place by the government in order to regulate the actions of citizens towards each other
or to the government and vice versa.
Different
Definitions of Criminal Law
As with most other concepts in law, there is no universally
accepted definition of criminal law. However, all definitions of criminal law
must state that it is a set of rules, it prescribes offences and provides the
punishment thereof.
Criminal law can be defined as a codified set of rules that
control and regulate certain acts which are criminal in the society. It is also
defined as an aspect of law that classifies certain kinds of behaviours as
offences to the state. These offences don’t necessarily violate private rights
and they are punishable by the state.
Criminal law can also be defined as the branch of law that
concerns the citizenry more than any other branch of law. It controls the
aspects of human behavior that concerns relation between the citizen, his
neighbour and the state.
It is arguable that criminal law is selective. This is
because it punishes only some kinds of human conduct and this is usually
subjective. This means that some acts that are considered crime in some areas
might not be considered so in the criminal law of another. A good example
is that of adultery. Adultery is considered as a crime in the Northern part of
Nigeria; s.387 and 388 Penal Code. In the Southern
part, it isn’t considered a crime.
What Is
A Crime?
In Criminal Law, the most important subject matter is the
crime. The main purpose of criminal law is to curb crime. What then is a crime?
A crime can be defined as an anti-social behavior that falls
within the general disapproval of the state or the society. It can also be
understood as an act or omission which is considered grievous by the society in
order to warrant being punishable by the laid down set of rules.
A crime can also be understood as a breach of rules that
leads to the accusatorial procedure controlled by the state and is liable to
punishment.
To give a juristic approach to the definition of crime, it
has been defined by Okonkwo and Naish as
“those breaches of the law resulting in special accusatorial procedure
controlled by the state and liable to sanction over and above compensation and
cost”.
It has also been defined by Richard Quinney in
his book The Social Reality of Crime as
“human conduct that is prohibited by authorized agent in a politically
organised society.”
Crime has also been defined in the case of R
vs Taylor as an act committed or omitted in violation
of public law either forbidding or commanding it.
Crime has also been defined by S. 2
of the Criminal Code as an act or omission which renders
the person doing the act or making the omission liable to punishment under this
code, or under any Act or Law.
It should be noted that an act is not considered a crime if
it is not contained in a written law; S.36(12) of the 1999 Constitution, S.11
Criminal Code.
The
Aims And Objectives Of Criminal Law
There are certain reasons for the institution of criminal
law in any given society. They are:
1. Preservation of Life: The
preservation of life is one of the foremost objectives of law in general and
criminal law in particular. Life is preserved by criminal law through
punishment for crimes like homicide; s.220 Penal Code(PC),
assault;s.264
Penal Code, physical violence, manslaughter; s.317
Criminal Code(CC) and so on.
2.
Preservation of Property: The property of an individual
is undoubtedly protected by criminal law from unwanted destruction,
interference, dishonest dealing by unauthorized persons etc. Criminal law
achieves this through the punishment of crimes like theft; s.286
PC, embezzlement, criminal trespass; s.342
PC etc.
3. The
Exigencies of Good Governance: In order to ensure good
governance, certain acts are punishable by the criminal law. Examples of these
kinds of acts include acceptance of bribe by public officials; s.98
CC, resisting lawful arrest, misappropriation of public funds
and so on.
4.
Protection of the State: Some acts are also prohibited
by criminal law in order to protect the state. Some of the prohibited acts
include treason; s.37 CC, treasonable
felony, sedition; s.50 CC and so on.
5.
Protection of Public Tranquility: The
preservation of the sanity of the society is also under the purview of criminal
law. For example, public nuisance is a crime according to the provisions of s.234
of the Criminal Code. This is in order to help in preserving
public tranquility.
6.
Protection of Morality: Criminal also helps to ensure
that the values of the society are not eroded over the passage of time. This is
accomplished by the prohibition of some acts that are considered immoral. Some
of them are adultery; s.387 PC and prostitution; S.405(1)(d) PC.
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