CLJ 1 - PCJS

CLJ 1 – INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPINE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
BASIC TERMINOLOGIES, PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACHES

According to Siegel and Senna, criminal justice may be defined as the system of
law enforcement, adjudication, and correction that is directly involved in the
apprehension, prosecution, and control of those charged with criminal offense
In general, a criminal justice system (CJS) involves a number of government
agencies that ensures the protection of the public, the maintenance of order, the
enforcement of the law, the identification of transgressors, the prosecution of the
accused and the finding of the guilty, and the correction and treatment of
criminal behavior
In the American CJS, there are only three (3) pillars; Law Enforcement, the courts
and the corrections. In contrast, the Philippines CJS have five (5) pillars; namely,
Law enforcement, prosecution, courts, corrections and community
Difference between criminal justice and criminology:
While Criminology explains the etiology, extent, and nature of the crime in
society; Criminal Justice studies the agencies of social control that handles
criminal offenders
While Criminologists are concerned with identifying the nature, extent and causes
of crime; Criminal Justice scholars engage in describing, analyzing, and explaining
the operations of the agencies of justice, specifically the police agencies, the
prosecution, the courts and the rest of the pillars of the system in seeking more
effective methods of crime control and offender rehabilitation
Crime and Criminal Justice System
Crime is the event that calls for the operation of the CJS. When a crime is
committed, it disturbs the tranquility and harmony of the society. Such event calls
upon the police to initiate police intervention by way of investigation or
apprehension of those who violate the law; the prosecutor to prosecute the case;
the court to determine the guilt of the accused, and the rest of the system follows
as incumbent upon their role in the criminal justice process.
Legal principles or maxims regarding a crime or a criminal act
a. Nullum crimen nulla poena sine lege – There is no crime where no law is
punishing it
b. Actus non facit reum, nisi mens rea – A crime is not committed if the mind
of the person performing the act complained be innocent
c. Actus me invito factus, non est meus actus – An act done by me against my
will is not my act
d. Crimes mala in se and crimes mala prohibita. The first set of crimes refer to
those that are naturally criminal on moral grounds while the second set of
crimes pertain to those acts that have been criminalized for regualroty
purposes. Murder is an example of mala in se while Illegal possession of
firearms and ammunitions is an example of mala prohibita
A crime is a violation of societal rules of behavior as interpreted and expressed by
a criminal legal code created by people holding social and political power.
In the legal sense, crime is defined as voluntary and intentional violation by legally
competent person of a legal duty that commands or prohibits an act for the
protection of the society. A crime is punishable by judicial proceedings in the
name of the state.
Things that apparently constitute crime
a. The act must be voluntary. Thus, if the criminal act were shown to have
been done involuntarily as when the individual is forced to commit a
criminal act against his will, the person cannot be found guilty of the crime
b. It must be intentional. Thus, criminal act that occurs by accident generally is
not considered crimes
c. It must be committed by a legally competent persons. Under the law,
certain persons are considered not capable of committing crime, like the
insane or those who are fifteen (15) years old and below
d. The behavior that constitute crime can be either an act of commission or an
act of omission. Thus, one maybe guilty of crime by doing something which
is prohibited or should not be done (murder) , as well as doing what the law
says should be done (payment of tax). In this connection, an act or omission
to constitute a crime must be considered unlawful by the statute at the
time the act is committed
e. A crime is an act that threatens the welfare of the society and is punishable
by judicial proceedings in the name of the state. Thus, crime is considered
to crime against the collective well-being of the society. In criminal
proceedings, the offended party or private complainant is merely
considered as the primary witness of the state.
In order to convict a person, the government must show that;
a. An act was committed, that at the time of its commission, was prohibited,
or that the accused failed to do something commanded by law
b. That the accused did the act voluntarily and with full knowledge of what he
or she was doing
c. That the act resulted from the intent
d. That the act and the intent caused something to occur that was offensive to
the law
e. That it cause some harm to society
If a crime is punished by the revised penal code (RPC), it is called a felony; if by a
special law, it is called an offense; if by an ordinance, it called an infraction of an
ordinance
Criminal Law and the Criminal Justice System (CJS)
The criminal justice system is based on the enacted criminal law/statutes
Only violations of criminal law are being considered and processed in the CJS.
Where there is no violation of criminal law or where there is no commission of
the crime, in general, Criminal Justice as a process will not operate
Even if the act of a person is somewhat generally annoying or obnoxious to some
people, that person cannot be processed in the CJS in the absence of an enacted
law
Criminal Law is defined as that branch of public law, which defines crimes, treats
of their nature, and provides for their punishment
Classification of criminal law
Substantive criminal law defines the elements that are necessary for an act to
constitute a crime and therefore punishable
Procedural criminal law refers to a statute that provides procedures appropriate
for the enforcement of the substantive criminal law
Sources of substantive criminal law
a. The revised penal code
b. Presidential decrees
c. Special penal laws
d. City or municipal ordinances
Sources of procedural criminal laws
a. The bill of rights of the Philippine constitution
b. The revised rules of criminal procedure; Rules of Court
c. Other rules on criminal procedures promulgated by the Supreme Court
pursuant to its constitutional mandate

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CLJ 1 – INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPINE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

BASIC TERMINOLOGIES, PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACHES

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