We explain what criminal liability is, its forms and its relationship with legal entities. Also, civil liability.
What is criminal liability?
In general terms, criminal liability is understood to mean acquired when a crime is committed that is, when an action punishable by law is carried out, typified in some criminal law. Those who attack any property protected by the current legal system in a country, such as life, physical integrity, public order or the assets of others, must face criminal liability administered by the State.
Criminal liability derives its name from the fact that involves the imposition of a penalty that is, a punishment proportional to the crime committed. This may involve deprivation of liberty (that is, going to jail), a fine or financial penalty, or the loss of other rights and freedoms (for example, the carrying of weapons or the right to free professional practice).
There are two forms of criminal responsibility, according to the nature of the crime committed:
- Common criminal liability when the crime committed can be committed by any ordinary individual, that is, when it involves common crimes, such as robbery, sexual abuse or homicide.
- Special criminal liability when the crime committed can be committed only by the subject in question, given that it requires some type of position or special power, such as being a public official, as is the case of embezzlement of public funds (embezzlement) or prevarication.
See also: Liability
Criminal liability and civil liability
Unlike criminal or delinquent liability Civil liability consists of the obligation to compensate someone for a wrong committed against them, generally through the payment of compensation established by justice.
This type of responsibility can be:
- Contractual: When between the plaintiff and the defendant there is a contract that has been broken or unfulfilled.
- Non-contractual: When the plaintiff and defendant have no prior relationship. At the same time, it is distinguished whether the wrong committed was not intentional, that is, unintentional, accidental, or whether it was criminal, that is, corresponding to the voluntary and conscious commission of a crime, which would take us to the grounds of responsibility. penal.
Logically, the sanctions between one form of liability and another are very different, and their capacities and forms of prescription are also different. For example, minor citizens do not have any criminal liability, although they do have civil liability.
Furthermore, civil liability has the task of repairing damage to the victim, while criminal liability pursues the objective of punishing a guilty party. Thus, the first is paid to the violated person, while the second is paid to the State.
Criminal liability of legal entities
One of the most common controversies in the history of modern law is the one that refers to the possibility of imputing criminal liability to a legal person, that is, to a company, institution or organization, instead of a natural individual (a person).
The problem is that Legal persons do not have a subjectivity that can be subjected to judgment, nor their own intentions but they depend on the people who are in charge of them. This also conflicts with fundamental principles of criminal law, such as that of the personality of penalties (that is, that each person is responsible for the crime committed by their own person and not for that of others).
However, the tendency of contemporary Western law is to overcome the maxim of Roman law Societas delinquere non potest (“societies cannot commit crimes”), especially in nations with Anglo-Saxon roots.
So, It would be possible to attribute criminal penalties to companies, a perspective that has gained popularity since the 19th century especially when it comes to business crime. Although the legal system that is applied to punish corporate crimes can vary greatly depending on the country and the legislation.
Continue with: Natural person and legal entity
References
- “Criminal liability” on Wikipedia.
- “Civil liability” on Wikipedia.
- “The criminal liability of legal entities” by Carolina Prado in the Argentine Legal Information System.
- “Civil and criminal liability” (video) in Aula Legal.
