A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal ...

. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might be imposed for these offences, and some general provisions (such as definitions and prohibitions on retroactive prosecution). Criminal codes are relatively common in civil law jurisdictions, which tend to build legal systems around codes and principles which are relatively abstract and apply them on a case-by-case basis. Conversely they are not as common in

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

jurisdictions. The proposed introduction of a criminal code in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

was a significant project of the Law Commission from 1968 to 2008. Due to the strong tradition of

legal precedent A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great val ...

in the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Ju ...

and consequently the large number of binding legal judgements and ambiguous ' common law offences', as well as the often inconsistent nature of English law, the creation of a satisfactory code became very difficult. The project was officially abandoned in 2008 although as of 2009 it has been revived. A statutory Criminal Law Codification Advisory Committee for Irish criminal law met from 2007 to 2010 and its ''Draft Criminal Code and Commentary'' was published in 2011. In the United States, a Model Penal Code exists which is not itself law but which provides the basis for the criminal law of many states. Individual states often choose to make use of criminal codes which are often based, to a varying extent on the model code.

Title 18 of the United States Code Title 18 of the United States Code is the main criminal code of the federal government of the United States. The Title deals with federal crimes and criminal procedure. In its coverage, Title 18 is similar to most U.S. state criminal codes, ...

is the criminal code for federal crimes. However, Title 18 does not contain many of the general provisions concerning criminal law that are found in the criminal codes of many so-called "civil law" countries. Criminal codes are generally supported for their introduction of consistency to legal systems and for making the criminal law more accessible to laypeople. A code may help avoid a

chilling effect In a legal context, a chilling effect is the inhibition or discouragement of the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights by the threat of legal sanction. A chilling effect may be caused by legal actions such as the passing of a law, the ...

where

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...

and

case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of ...

appears to be either inaccessible or beyond comprehension to non-lawyers. Alternatively critics have argued that codes are too rigid and that they fail to provide enough flexibility for the law to be effective.

By country

* Australian criminal codes * Criminal Code of Belarus * Penal Code of Brazil *

British Virgin Islands Criminal Code The British Virgin Islands Criminal Code (No 1 of 1997) is a statute of the British Virgin Islands which consolidates almost all of the indictable offences under the Territory's criminal law. The Code was passed into law by the Legislative Co ...

Criminal Code (Canada) The ''Criminal Code'' (french: Code criminel)The citation of this Act by these short titles is authorised by thEnglishantexts of section 1. is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is '' ...

Criminal Code of Chile In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China The Law of the People's Republic of China, officially referred to as the Socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, is the legal regime of China, with the separate legal traditions and systems of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Mac ...

( zh) * Criminal Code of the Czech Republic (2009) *

Danish Penal Code The Danish Penal Code, also known as the Danish Criminal Code ( da, Straffeloven),Retsinformation.dStraffeloven./ref> is the codification of and the foundation of criminal law in Denmark. The updated official full text covers 29 chapters and is a ...

(

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

) *

English Criminal Code The jurisdiction of England and Wales does not have a Criminal Code though such an instrument has been often recommended and attempted. , the Law Commission is again working on the Code. History *1818 - Parliament petitions the Prince Regent f ...

, a draft has existed since 1989 but, though debated since 1818, has never been enacted *

Criminal Code of Finland The Criminal Code of Finland ( fi, rikoslaki, sv, strafflag) is the codification of the central legal source concerning criminal law in Finland. History The Criminal Code came into effect in 1894, and it has been modified numerous times since t ...

* French Penal Code * German Criminal Code
Hungarian Penal Code in English
''status of 18 August 2005''
'' Operative Hungarian Penal Code''
* General Penal Code (Iceland) * Indian Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure * Indonesian Criminal Code ('' Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana'') and Code of Criminal Procedure ('' Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Acara Pidana'') * Israeli Penal Law, 5737-1977 * Iranian Criminal Code * Iraqi Penal Code * Italian Penal Code * Penal Code of Japan * Penal Code of Macau * Penal Code (Malaysia), enacted in 1936. * Criminal Code of Malta, enacted in 1854. * Mexican Penal Code, enacted on August 14, 1931. * General Code of Nepal * Penal Code of the Netherlands ('' Wetboek van Strafrecht'') * New Zealand Crimes Act 1961 *

Pakistan Penal Code The Pakistan Penal Code (; ), abbreviated as PPC, is a penal code for all offences charged in Pakistan. It was originally prepared by Lord Macaulay with a great consultation in 1860 on the behalf of the Government of India as the Indian Pen ...

Revised Penal Code of the Philippines The Revised Penal Code contains the general penal laws of the Philippines. First enacted in 1930, it remains in effect today, despite several amendments thereto. It does not comprise a comprehensive compendium of all Philippine penal laws. The ...

* Polish Penal Code * Penal Code of Portugal *

Penal Code of Romania The Penal Code of Romania (''Codul penal al României'') is a document providing the legal basis regarding criminal law in Romania. The Code contains 446 articles. The articles mention aspects such as the national boundaries of law and the crimes ...

* Criminal Code of Russia * Penal Code of South Korea * Penal Code of Sri Lanka * Penal Code of Singapore * Spanish Criminal Code, enacted for the first time in 1822. Current version dates back to 1995. * Swiss Criminal Code * Syrian Penal Code *

Turkish Penal Code Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities a ...

(also see its articles 301 and 312) * Criminal Code of Ukraine *

* Model Penal Code by the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. ...

* List of U.S. state statutory codes * Vietnamese Penal Code, first enacted in 1985

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Criminal Code

By country

See also

References