A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. 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 Civil law may refer to: * Civil law (common law), the part of law that concerns private citizens and legal persons * Civil law (legal system), or continental law, a legal system originating in continental Europe and based on Roman law ** Private la ...

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 ...

was a significant project of the Law Commission from 1968 to 2008. Due to the strong tradition of legal precedent 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 Common law offences are crimes under English criminal law, the related criminal law of some Commonwealth countries, and under some U.S. State laws. They are offences under the common law, developed entirely by the law courts, having no speci ...

', 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 The Model Penal Code (MPC) is a model act designed to stimulate and assist U.S. state legislatures to update and standardize the Criminal law of the United States, penal law of the United States.MPC (Foreword). The MPC was a project of the America ...

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 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 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 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 * Criminal Code (Canada) * Criminal Code of Chile * Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China ( zh) * Criminal Code of the Czech Republic (2009) * Danish Penal Code (

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

) * English Criminal Code, a draft has existed since 1989 but, though debated since 1818, has never been enacted * Criminal Code of Finland * French Penal Code * German Criminal Code
Hungarian Penal Code in English
''status of 18 August 2005''
'' Operative Hungarian Penal Code''
*

General Penal Code (Iceland) General Penal Code ( is, Almenn hegningarlög) governs the criminal law in Iceland. The code is passed under Act no.19 and revised acts have been adopted in principal areas of law, such as the Act on Customs and the Act in Respect of Children. In ...

* Indian Penal Code and

Code of Criminal Procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or i ...

* 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 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 ...

, enacted in 1854. * Mexican Penal Code, enacted on August 14, 1931. * General Code of Nepal * Penal Code of the Netherlands (''

Wetboek van Strafrecht The Netherlands uses Civil law (legal system), civil law. The role of case law is small in theory, although in practice it is impossible to understand the law in many fields without also taking into account the relevant case law. The Dutch system ...

'') * New Zealand Crimes Act 1961 * Pakistan Penal Code * Revised Penal Code of the Philippines * Polish Penal Code * Penal Code of Portugal * Penal Code of Romania *

Criminal Code of Russia The Russian Criminal Code (russian: Уголовный кодекс Российской Федерации, frequently abbreviated УК РФ) is the prime source of the Law of the Russian Federation concerning criminal offences. The 1996 Cri ...

* Penal Code of South Korea *

Penal Code of Sri Lanka Penal Code (''Ordinance No. 2 of 1883)'' enacts the Criminal 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 accep ...

* Penal Code of Singapore *

Spanish Criminal Code The Criminal Code is a law that codifies most criminal offences in Spain. The Code is established by an organic law, the Organic Law 10/1995, of 23 November, of the Criminal Code (''Ley Orgánica 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre, del Código Penal' ...

, 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 ...

(also see its articles

301 __NOTOC__ Year 301 (Roman numerals, CCCI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Postumius and Nepotianus (or, less freque ...

and

312 __NOTOC__ Year 312 ( CCCXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Licinianus (or, less frequently, ...

) * Criminal Code of Ukraine * Title 18 of the United States Code *

by the American Law Institute * List of U.S. state statutory codes *

Vietnamese Penal Code Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

, first enacted in 1985

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Criminal Code

By country

See also

References