Crimes-and-liability I Law of crime Dhaka International university

Crimes-and-liability I Law of crime Dhaka International university

1. Crimes and liability Lecture-1

2. What is Crime? A crime may be defined to be any act done in violation of those duties which an individual owes to the community, and for the breach of which the law has provided that the offender shall make satisfaction to the public. A crime or public offense is an act committed or omitted in violation of a law forbidding or commanding it, and to which is annexed, upon conviction, either of the following punishments: (1) Death; (2) imprisonment; (3) fine; (4) removal from office; or (5) disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor , trust, or profit in this state.

3. Elements of crimes Commission of Act or omission of duties prescribed by law Intention or knowledge ( Mens rea )

4. Stages of crime: Intention 1.  Intention The intention is the first stage of any offense and is known as the mental or psycho stage. In this stage, the offender decides the motive and decides his course or direction towards the offense. The ironical fact about this stage is that the law cannot punish the person just for having an intention to do any illegal act. Moreover , being the mental concept, it is very difficult to judge if a person possesses any such intention. Just by having an intention will not constitute an offense.

5. Preparation 2. Preparation Preparation is the second stage amongst the stages of crime. It means to arrange the necessary resources for the execution of the intentional criminal act. Intention and preparation alone are not enough to constitute a crime. Preparation is not punishable because in many cases the prosecution fails to prove that the preparations in the question are for the execution of the particular crime.

6. Attempt 3.   Attempt An attempt is a direct movement towards the execution of a crime after the preparation of the plan. According to law, a person is guilty of an attempt to commit an offense if he/she does an act which is more than simply preparatory to the commission of the offense. Moreover, a person is guilty of attempting to commit an offense even though the facts are such that the execution of the offense seems to be impossible.

7. Accomplishment 4.  Accomplishment The last stage in the commission of an offense is its successful completion. If the accused becomes successful in his attempt to commit the crime, he will be guilty of the complete offense. Moreover, if his attempt is unsuccessful he will be guilty of his attempt

8. Cyber crimes Cybercrime is defined as a crime that is committed using a network-connected device such as a computer or a mobile phone . In Bangladesh Digital Security Act 2018 provides for the definition of cyber related crimes, its punishment and trial court and its procedure.

9. Liability in criminal law Liability or responsibility is the bond of necessity that exists between the wrongdoer and the remedy of the wrong. Liability arises from a wrong or the breach of a duty.

10. Penal Liability The theory of penal liability is concerned with the punishment of wrong. There are three aspects of penal liability and those are the conditions, incidence and the measure of penal liability. As regards the conditions of penal liability, two things are required to be considered. Those are the Act and the Mens rea or the guilty mind of the doer of the act.

11. Act The material condition of penal liability. An act is any event subject to human control. An internal act is an act of the mind and an external act is act of the body. Wrongful act per se…

12. Mens rea or guilty mind Actus non facit reum , nisi mens sit rea … an act does not make guilty unless there is a guilty mind. A guilty mind must consist of either intention or negligence and sometimes knowledge of the consequences will be considered as a part of the guilty mind.

13. Exception to Mens rea : Absolute or strict liability An offender is held liable independently of any wrongful intention or culpable negligence. Such wrong are called the wrongs of absolute liability or strict liability.

14. Wrongs of absolute liability 1. Mistake of Law is not excused 2. Mistake of fact is good defence 3. Inevitable accident requires a degree of care exceeding the standard demanded by law. ( Ryland vs Fletcher is exception)