UNIT 1.

FUNDAMENTAL
PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LAW

ATTY. LEAH C. LAGMAY-ROSARIO,

Lecturer
What is Criminal Law?

CRIMINAL LAW is that

branch of law which
defines crimes, treats of
their nature, and provides
for their punishment. (Reyes)
Limitations on the Power of the Lawmaking
Body to Enact Criminal Laws

The Bill of Rights of the 1987

Constitution imposes the following
limitations:
1. No expost facto law or bill of
attainder shall be enacted. (Art. III,
Sec. 22)

2. No person shall be held to

answer for criminal offense
without due process of law. (Art. III,
Sec. 14)
Limitations on the Power of the Lawmaking
Body to Enact Criminal Laws
1. No expost facto law or bill of
attainder shall be enacted. (Art. III, Sec. 22)
An expost facto law is one which:
a. makes criminal an act done before the
passage of the law and which was innocent
when done, and punishes an act.
b. aggravates a crime, or makes it greater than it was,
when committed.
[Link] the punishment and inflicts a greater punishment
than the law annexed to the crime when committed.
Limitations on the Power of the Lawmaking
Body to Enact Criminal Laws
1. No expost facto law or bill of
attainder shall be enacted. (Art. III, Sec. 22)
A Bill of Attainder is a legislative act
which inflicts punishment without trial.

Example:
Congress passes a law which authorizes the arrest and
imprisonment of communists without the benefit of a judicial
trial.
 Legal Maxims

Dura lex sed lex- The law

maybe harsh but it is still
the law.

Accused-appellant claims that the penalty of reclusion perpetua is too cruel and
harsh and pleads for sympathy.
But it was held that courts are not the forum to plead for sympathy. The duty of the
courts is to apply the law, disregarding their feelings for sympathy or pity for an
accused. Dura lex sed lex!
-People v. Amigo, 1996
Legal Maxims

Ignorantia legis non

excusat- Ignorance of the
law excuses no one.
 Legal Maxims
Nullum crimen nulle poena
sine lege - There is no crime
when there is no law that
defines and punishes it.
Because there is no law that punishes a person who does not report to the authorities
the commission of a crime which he witnessed, the omission to do so is not a crime.

“Mere passive presence (of Romana Silvestre-wife of accused) at the scene of another’s
crime, mere silence and failure to give the alarm, without evidence of agreement or
conspiracy, is not punishable. Romana, therefore, must be acquitted.”
- People v. Silvestre &Atienza
Legal Maxims

Actus no facit reum, nisi

mens sit rea – The act
cannot be criminal unless
the mind is criminal.
Legal Maxims

Actus me invite factus non

est meus actus – An act
done by me against my will
is not my act.
 Legal Maxims
El que es causa de la causa
es causa del mal causado–
He who is the cause of the
cause is the cause of the evil
cause.
Thus, in the case of People v. Martin, the accused, who strangled his
wife then suffering from heart disease, was found guilty of parricide
even if the death of his wife was the result of heart failure, because the
heart failure was due to the fright or shock caused by the strangling,
which is a felony.
 Legal Maxims
El que es causa de la causa es
causa del mal causado– He who
is the cause of the cause is the
cause of the evil cause.

Thus, if a person against whom a criminal assault is directed

reasonably believes himself to be in danger of death or great bodily
harm and in order to escape jumps into the water, impelled by the
instinct of self-preservation, the assailant is responsible for homicide in
case death results by drowning. (Toling case)
El que es causa de la causa es causa del mal causado!
Legal Maxims

In dubio, pro reo–

When in doubt, for
the accused
Crime, Felony, Offense and Misdemeanor
Distinguished

CRIME- a generic term that embraces any violation of

the RPC, SPL, municipal or city ordinances.

FELONY- a crime punished under the RPC

OFFENSE- a crime punished under a special penal law

MISDEMEANOR- a minor infraction of law

Crimes mala inse v. Crimes mala
prohibita
Mala in se “evil in itself”- A crime or an act that is
inherently immoral such as murder, arson, or rape.
(Black’s Law)

Mala prohibita “prohibited evil” – An act that is a

crime merely because it is prohibited by statute,
although the act itself is not necessarily immoral.
What are the Theories in
Criminal Law?
Classical/ Juristic Theory
Positivist/Realistic Theory
Eclectic/Mixed Theory
Utilitarian/Protective Theory
Classical/ Juristic Theory
The basis of criminal liability is
human free will. The purpose of the
penalty is retribution in view of the
voluntariness of the act or omission
of the offender. The emphasis is on
the offense and not on the offender.
Positivist/Realistic Theory
Man is inherently good but the offender
is socially sick. The basis is the sum of
social and economic phenomena which
condition man to do wrong in spite of
or contrary to his volition.
The purpose of the penalty is
reformation and the emphasis is on the
offense and not on the offender.
Eclectic/Mixed Theory
A combination of both the
classical and positive theories.
Our Code is considered eclectic!
Utilitarian/Protective Theory
The primary function of
punishment is to protect society
from potential and actual
wrongdoers. The retributive
aspect of penal laws should be
directed against them.
What are the sources of
Criminal Law?
RA 3815 commonly known as
the Revised Penal Code and its
Amendments
*The RPC was approved on December 8, 1930.
It took effect on January 1, 1932.
Special Penal Laws
*Police Power as Basis
The state has the authority, under its
police power, to define and punish
and to lay down the rules of criminal
procedure. (Reyes)

Police Power is the power of the State to enact regulations to

promote the health, morals, peace and order, and welfare of the
society. (Ermita-Malate Hotel and Motel Operators v. City of Manila, G.R. No. L-24693, Oct. 23, 1967)
What are the
Characteristics of Criminal
Law?
General
Territorial
Prospective
 General
The law is binding Penal laws and those of
upon ALL persons public security and
who live or sojourn in safety shall be
the Philippines, obligatory upon ALL
irrespective of age, who live and sojourn in
sex, color, creed, or the Philippine territory,
personal subject to the
circumstances. principles of Public
International law and to
Treaty stipulations.
(Civil Code, Art. 14)
Exemptions from the Generality Principle
Ambassadors, Chief of States and other diplomatic
officials are immune from the application of penal laws
when they are in the country where they are assigned.
(People v. Galacgac)
Acts performed should be in official capacity and
performance of his duty.
(GR No. 125865, 2000)
Exception to the Generality Principle
Those provided in:
Treaties
Laws of Preferential Application (Art. 2, RPC)
 Principles of Public International Law (Art. 14, CC)
Territorial
The law is applicable to all
crimes committed within the
limits of the Philippine
territory, which includes its
atmosphere, interior waters
and maritime zone.
 Prospective
General Rule: Criminal Laws should be applied prospectively.

Exceptions:
1. When it is favorable to the offender.
2. When the law decriminalizes an act.

Exceptions to the Exception:

1. The offender is a habitual delinquent; and
2. The law otherwise provides.
Pro-reo Doctrine
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 –
that interpretation which is lenient or
favorable to the offender will be adopted.