CRIMINAL LAW NOTES

A compilation of the notes

and lectures of Pros.
Sagsago. It is supplemented
by notes of Dean Carlos
Ortega and J.B.L Reyes.
BOOK ONE
CRIMINAL LAW - branch of
public substantive law which
defines crimes, treats of
their nature, and provides
for their punishment.
Nature of Criminal Law:
punishment. Cages are like
asylums, jails like hospitals.
They are there to segregate
the offenders from the
―good‖ members of
society.
Penalty is to be imposed
only upon the
recommendation of social
scientists, psychologists and
experts. The penalty is
imposed on a case to case
basis after examination of
the offender by a panel of
social scientists which do
not include lawyers as the
panel would not want the
law to influence their
consideration.
The emphasis is on the
individual.
Eclectic or Mixed Theory
This combines both
positivist and classical
thinking. Crimes that are
economic and social and
nature should be dealt with
in a positivist manner; thus,
the law is more
compassionate. Heinous
crimes should be dealt with
in a classical manner; thus,
capital punishment.
Utilitarian Theory
A man is punished only if he
is proved to be an actual or
potential danger to society.
The primary purpose of the
punishment under criminal
law is the protection of
society from actual and
potential wrongdoers. The
courts, therefore, in exacting
retribution for the wronged
society, should direct the
punishment to potential or
actual wrongdoers, since
criminal law is directed
against acts and omissions
which the society does not
approve. Consistent with
this theory, the mala
prohibita principle which
punishes an offense
regardless of malice or
criminal intent, should not
be utilized to apply the full
harshness of the special law.
Theory to Which the
Philippines Adhere
1. Since the Revised Penal
Code was adopted from the
Spanish Codigo Penal, which
in turn was copied from the
French Code of 1810 which
is classical in character, it is
said that our Code is also
classical. This is no longer
true because with the
American occupation of the
Philippines, many provisions
of common law have been
engrafted into our penal
laws. The Revised Penal
Code today follows the
mixed or eclectic
philosophy. For example,
intoxication of the offender
is considered to mitigate his
criminal liability, unless it is
intentional or habitual; the
age of the offender is
considered; and the woman
who killed her child to
conceal her dishonor has in
her favor a mitigating
circumstance. Besides,
there are provisions which
are based on positivist
school like provisions on
minority, modifying
circumstances, and
provisions on impossible
crimes.
2. For special laws, there are
following the positivist
theory such as the Law on
Probation, Special
1.
2.
SUBSTANTIVE LAW - it
defines the State‘s right to
inflict punishment and the
liability of the offenders.
PUBLIC LAW - it deals with
the relation of the individual
with the State.
THEORIES/PHILOSOPHIES
IN CRIMINAL LAW
Classical (Juristic) Theory
The basis of criminal
responsibility is human free
will. Man has the intellect to
know what is legal from
illegal. He has the freedom
to choose whether to obey
the law or violate it. If he
opts to violate the law, then
he must bear the
consequences. Best
remembered by the maxim
―An eye for an eye, a tooth
for a tooth.‖ [Note: If you
want to impress the
examiner, use the Latin
version – Oculo pro oculo,
dente pro dente.]
The purpose of penalty is
retribution. Since he injured
the society, then society has
the right to demand that he
must pay and suffer for what
he did.
There is direct and
mechanical proportion
between crime and penalty
which penalty has been
determined before hand.
The emphasis is the act
itself, with little regard for
the criminal. There is scant
regard for the human
element of the crime. The
law does not look into why
the offender committed the
crime. Capital punishment is
a product of this kind of this
school of thought. Man is
regarded as a moral creature
who understands right from
wrong. So that when he
commits a wrong, he must
be prepared to accept the
punishment therefore.
RPC is generally governed
by this theory.
Positivist (Realistic) Theory
The basis of criminal
responsibility is the sum of
the social, natural and
economic phenomena to
which the actor is exposed.
Man is essentially good but
by reason of outside factors
or influences he is
constrained to do wrong
despite his volition to the
contrary.
The purpose of penalty is
reformation. There is great
respect for the human
element because the
offender is regarded as
socially sick who needs
treatment, not