THE AWESOME NOTES CRIMINAL LAW BOOK I of 1 97 DEFINITION ACT NO. 3815 EFFECTIVITY DATE: January 1, 1932 DEFINITIONS: • CRIMINAL LAW is the branch or division of law which defines crimes, treats of their nature and provides for their punishment. • FELONY an act or omission violative of the RPC, committed either intentionally or negligently • OFFENSE is an act or omission violative of special penal law • CRIME violation of any penal law, be it the RPC, special penal law or a mere ordinance. CONSTRUCTION OF PENAL LAWS • LIBERALLY IN FAVOR OF THE ACCUSED HENCE: no act should be considered criminal, UNLESS it is clearly made so by the law ALSO: - the court may consider the spirit and the reason of penal law where a literal meaning would lead to absurdity and injustice. PROVIDED: that in case the law is lear and unambiguous; no room for application of this rule. • STRICTLY AGAINST THE STATE WHEN THE LAW IS AMBIGUOUS AND THERE IS DOUBT AS TO ITS INTERPRETATION • EQUIPOSE DOCTRINE when the evidence of the prosecution and the defense us equally balanced, the scale should be titled in favor of the accused in obedience to the constitutional presumption innocence. NOTE: Where the inculpatory facts admit of several interpretation, one consistent with the accused innocence and the other with his guilt, - the evidence thus adduced fails to meet the test of moral certainty and it becomes the constitutional duty of the court to acquit the accused. • VOID-FOR-VAGUENESS DOCTRINE availed when the law defining a crime fails - to define it with sufficient definiteness that a person of ordinary intelligence can understand what conduct is prohibited TO BE INVOKED the law must be utterly vague on its face, which cannot be clarified either by its saving clause or by construction. NOTE: does not require that the law must be with absolute precession or mathematical exactitude. • DOCTRINE OF PRO-REO when a circumstance is susceptible to 2 interpretations, one favorable to the accused and the other against him, that interpretation favorable to the accused shall prevail. MALA IN SE MALA PROHIBITA crimes which are wrong from their very nature ie. murder, homicide, parricide, etc crimes which are wrong because they are prohibited by law ie. BP 22, DDA, Illegal p o s s e s s i o n o f firearms intent governs intent is immaterial HENCE: gf and lack of criminal intent is not a valid defense penalized under RPC punished by special laws stages of execution affects the penalty imposable. stage of execution is not considered prepared by: ronie ablan AAA - BASTE / ATB FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES