HANDOUT #1

 Purpose of Civil Law

o restitution in integrum (return to original position) in civil law – status
quo ante
 Purpose of Criminal Law
o Crime – Cernen (Latin to judge) - Social Concept
o Offence – Offensus (Latin for misdeed) - Legal Concept
o Definition of Offence
 s. 40 IPC – only IPC
 ‘Any thing’ - acts (positive or negative omissions), state of
mind, status of person
 Punishable – No definition but types of punishment in s. 53
IPC
 Other Definitions of Offence - s. 2(n) CrPC, s. 3(38) General
Clauses Act and s. 2(n) CrPC
 Definition and punishment may be in same section – s. 279 IPC
 Definition and punishment may be in different sections – ss.
378 and 379 IPC
 Definition of an offence has to be clear, unambiguous and
explicit – No implicit offences
 State Centricity of Offence
o State to arrest (via Police) (Chapter V, CrPC) (ss. 41-60A)
o State to investigate (via Police) (Chapter XII, CrPC) (ss. 154-176)
o State to conduct the trial (via Courts and Prosecutors) (Chapters XVIII
– XXI, CrPC) (ss. 225-265)
o State to sentence after trial (via Courts) (Chapter XVII, CrPC) (ss. 353-
365)
o State to execute sentence (via prison authorities) (Prisons Act)
 Philosophical basis of State Centricity
o Thomas Hobbes- social contract theory - society giving power to the
State to regulate conduct of humans
o John Austin - Law is the command of the sovereign backed by sanction
– in criminal law sanction is punishment
 Relationship of IPC and non-IPC offences with CrPC
o IPC offences – s. 4(1) CrPC
o Non-IPC offences – s. 4(2) CrPC
o Non-CrPC procedures – s. 5 CrPC
o IF Special Law = Explicit and CrPC = Silent THEN Special Law >
CrPC
o IF Special Law = Silent and CrPC = Explicit THEN CrPC > Special
Law
o IF Special Law = Explicit and CrPC Procedure = Explicit THEN
Special Law > CrPC
o IF Special Law = Silent and CrPC = Silent THEN Constitution