Unlawful Conduct in Criminal Law: A Comprehensive Guide
Unlawful Conduct in Criminal Law
Definition of Unlawful Conduct
Unlawful conduct in criminal law refers to actions that violate established legal standards. While distinct from illegality, the two concepts are closely related, as unlawful conduct typically forms the basis of a crime, unless justification exists (e.g., self-defense).
Formal and Material Concepts of Unlawful Conduct
Formal Concept
Conduct prohibited by law or devalued without justification.
Material Concept
Injury or endangerment of a legal right, forming the foundation of illegality and criminality.
Legality: Definition and Functions
Legality encompasses the values, conditions, and circumstances enabling societal life. Its functions include:
- Systematizing legal precepts.
- Guiding the interpretation of criminal types.
- Aiding in measurement or sentencing.
Material Criteria of Unlawfulness
Impairment of Value of Output
Direct offense against a legal interest, causing endangerment or injury.
Disvalue of Action
The method of committing the offense, playing a selective role in criminal law, prioritizing protection of significant property from serious crimes. The selection of protected rights and punishable conduct is based on the disvalue of the action.
Attempts are punished differently than the completed crime (loss of value).
Types of Crime by Degree of Injury to Legal Good
1. Crimes of Injury or Damage
Crimes requiring actual injury to a legal good. Attempts are punishable due to the endangerment they pose, though distinct from crimes of danger.
2. Crimes of Danger
Evaluated “ex-ante” (before the action). This approach proactively protects legal goods by punishing the creation of risk or danger, even without materialized injury.
Types of Crimes of Danger:
- Abstract Dangerous Offenses: Punishing actions statistically proven as dangerous (e.g., crimes against public health or the environment). These are “ex legem,” requiring no specific proof of danger.
- Specific Dangerous Offenses: Requiring the judge to assess and verify the risk to the legal good in each case. These crimes involve changes in the external world resulting from the action. Proof of risk is necessary.
Objective, Subjective, and Mixed Conceptions of Unlawfulness
Objective Conception (Causality)
Unlawfulness stems from the harm or annoyance caused by the action to the legal standard.
Subjective Conception (Finalists)
Unlawfulness is an act of rebellion against state-mandated laws.
Mixed Postures
Prioritizing legal assessment, considering all mandates given to the citizen, and evaluating the disobedience alongside the legal injury.
Subjective Elements of Unjust
The theory of subjective elements of unjust focuses on the impersonal frustration between the action and the legal standard. Personal circumstances are considered separately in the guilt trial. However, subjective factors can be relevant in determining unlawfulness based on two criteria:
- Distinguishing seemingly equal conducts or identifying deviations.
- Proactively protecting legal goods by advancing the forbidden line.
Criminal Offenses with Subjective Intent Elements
In these offenses, the unlawful nature is tied to the perpetrator’s aim. The offense is established only when that intent coincides with the injury of a legal right.
Types of Offenses:
- Maimed in Two Acts: Consummation occurs when the first act is performed with the intent to perform a second act.
- Result of Two Acts: Performing an act to produce a specific result beyond the initial act.
- Trend Crimes: Acts driven by a particular subjective tendency (e.g., a gynecologist exploiting their position for sexual abuse).
- Crimes of Expression: Involving a discrepancy between the subject’s declaration and actual knowledge.
- Crimes of Attempt: Punishing acts of execution performed with the intent to achieve a criminal result, but failing to do so due to involuntary reasons.