Crim Law Glossary
Certainly. Here's a complete list of key vocabulary terms and their definitions based on your content, cleanly formatted and without emojis:
Core Concepts
Criminal Law – Norms prohibiting serious wrongs, backed by state punishment, to protect autonomy and welfare.
Crime – A public wrong punishable by the state.
Substantive Criminal Law – Defines criminal offenses, liability conditions (actus reus, mens rea, defenses), and punishment.
Procedural Criminal Law – Rules governing how criminal law is enforced (investigation to punishment).
Analytical Frameworks
Analysis of Criminal Liability – Determining if a crime occurred: actus reus, mens rea, and defenses.
US Analytical Scheme – 1. Criminality, 2. Illegality (justifications), 3. Culpability (excuses).
German Analytical Scheme – 1. Elements of the offense, 2. Wrongfulness (justifications), 3. Culpability (excuses).
Objective Elements
Objective Elements – Conduct, causation, and result in the definition of an offense.
Actus Reus – The external elements of a crime (conduct, causation, result).
Conduct – Voluntary act, omission, or possession.
Voluntary Act – A willed movement; excludes automatism and coercion.
Omission – Failure to act where there's a duty; can be a form of liability.
Possession – Status or relationship with an object; can be a crime or liability mode.
Circumstances – Conditions that must exist alongside conduct/result.
Causation – Links conduct to result in result crimes.
Sine Qua Non Test ("But for" test) – Factual causation: would the result have occurred but for the act?
Proximate Cause – Legal causation; must be closely connected to the result.
Result – The outcome of conduct in result crimes.
Subjective Elements
Subjective Elements – Mental state of the offender (mens rea).
Mens Rea – Culpable mental state in relation to actus reus elements.
Modes of Culpability
Purpose/Intent (US) – Conscious goal to engage in conduct or cause result.
Knowledge (US) – Awareness that conduct will almost certainly cause result.
Recklessness (US) – Conscious disregard of substantial risk.
Negligence (US/Germany) – Failure to perceive risk one should have (US), or reliance that harm won't occur (Germany).
Dolus Directus (Germany) – Intention; first degree (desire result), second degree (certainty of result).
Dolus Eventualis (Germany) – Awareness and acceptance of risk (conditional intent).
Strict Liability
Strict Liability – Liability without mens rea; generally limited in German law.
Defenses
Absence of Defenses – Liability depends on no valid defenses existing.
Defenses – Conditions that negate criminal liability.
Justifications – Lawful reasons making conduct non-wrongful.
Excuses – Conduct is wrongful, but actor is not culpable.
Key Defenses
Self-Defense (US/Germany) – Use of force to avert present unlawful attack.
Necessity (Germany) – Justification or excuse based on emergency and proportionality.
Duress (US/Germany) – Excuse due to coercion or threat making resistance unreasonable.
Consent (US/Germany) – Can negate offense or justify conduct; has legal limits.
Insanity (US/Germany) – Incapacity to know or control actions due to mental illness.
Intoxication (US/Germany) – May negate mens rea; partial or complete excuse in Germany.
Wrongfulness and Culpability
Wrongfulness (Germany) – Second step; assesses whether the offense is unjustified.
Criminality (US) – First step; evaluates if conduct fits an offense.
Illegality (US) – Second step; considers justifications.
Burden and Standards of Proof
Burden of Proof – Prosecution must prove offense (US); all elements (Germany).
Beyond Any Reasonable Doubt (BARD) – Criminal conviction standard in US.
In Dubio Pro Reo – German principle: doubt benefits the defendant.
Punishment
Punishment – Pain or deprivation imposed for legal violations by a legal authority.
Functions/Justifications of Punishment – Communicative, protective, reintegrative, denunciatory, retributive, utilitarian.
Theories of Punishment
Retributivism – Punishment as deserved response to wrongdoing.
Utilitarianism – Punishment as means to future benefits (deterrence, rehab, incapacitation).
Mixed Theories – Combine retributive and utilitarian rationales.
Utilitarian Aims
Deterrence – Prevent future crimes (special/general).
Incapacitation – Prevent crime by removing offender from society.
Rehabilitation – Reform offender to prevent reoffending.
Limits on Punishment
Proportionality – Punishment must match seriousness of offense.
Human Dignity – European limit on punishment; linked to rights and autonomy.
Cruel and Unusual Punishment (US) – Prohibited under Eighth Amendment.
Forms of Sentences
Life Sentences – Indefinite imprisonment; must include resocialization prospects in Germany.
Parole – Conditional release before completing sentence.
Life Without Parole (LWOP) – No parole; limited for juveniles in US.
Capital Punishment (US) – Death penalty; limited to severe cases.
Abolition of Death Penalty (Europe) – Banned via ECHR protocols.
Aggravating & Mitigating Factors
Aggravating Factors – Increase offense severity; higher proof standards in capital cases.
Mitigating Factors – Lessen severity or culpability; lower proof threshold.
Sentencing
Sentencing – Process of determining penalty; considers aggravating/mitigating factors.
Legality Principle and Its Components
Legality Principle – Criminal liability must be pre-defined by law.
Nullum Crimen Nulla Poena Sine Lege – "No crime or punishment without law."
Lex Scripta – Law must be written.
Lex Certa – Law must be clear and specific.
Lex Stricta – No analogical interpretation; must follow text.
Lex Praevia – No retroactive criminal laws.
Ex Post Facto Clause (US) – Constitutional bar on retroactive penal laws.
Jurisdiction Principles
Territoriality Principle – Jurisdiction based on where crime occurred.
Nationality Principle – Jurisdiction based on offender’s nationality.
Protective Principle – Jurisdiction based on harm to national interests.
Universality Principle – Jurisdiction over universal crimes regardless of location.
Passive Personality Principle – Jurisdiction based on victim’s nationality.
Inchoate Offenses
Inchoate Offenses – Crimes involving incomplete or preparatory conduct.
Attempt – Effort to commit a crime that fails; requires substantial step (US).
Complete Attempt – All steps taken, but result fails.
Incomplete Attempt – Not all steps taken.
Impossible Attempt – Crime could not have occurred under any circumstances.
Substantial Step (US) – Conduct that confirms intent and nears completion.
Conspiracy – Agreement to commit a crime; requires overt act.
Solicitation – Encouraging or requesting another to commit a crime.
Complicity/Participation
Participation/Complicity – Involvement in a crime via aiding or abetting.
Tatherrschaft (Germany) – "Control over the act"; distinguishes principals from accessories.
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