Criminal Responsibility
The subject of a crime is a person who commits the crime and is responsible for it. Only persons who have attained a certain age can be the subject of a crime. Persons who have reached the age 16 before the committing a crime are criminally responsible. For some crimes (murder, stealing, robbery, hooliganism with evil intent, etc.) the age is 14 years.
A person who, at the time of the committing a socially dangerous act is unable to account for his actions because of chronic mental disease, temporary mental derangement or some other morbid state, is not criminally responsible. Compulsory medical treatment as established by the criminal legislation of the state (placing in a general or special mental hospital) may be applied to such a person by a court order.
A person who, at the time of the committing a crime, is able to account for his actions but, before a sentence is passed by the court, is affected by mental derangement, is not liable to punishment. He may be liable to punishment on recovery from his illness. A person committing a crime in a state of drunkenness is not relieved of criminal responsibility.
Law Reform
The law cannot remain static because it must reflect the social, economic and moral values and needs of the society it regulates. As these develop and change, so must the law.
There are several aspects of law reform. At the most obvious level, the law may need reforming because it produces results which are contrary to common sense or unfair. This can arise from defects (imperfections) in the substantive law, or defects in procedural law, or both. Substantive law is connected with rights and wrongs and with remedies for their violation. Procedural law is concerned with the process by which remedies are made available.
Sometimes there is no clear distinguishing line between substantive and procedural law: thus the definition of a criminal offence, including the maximum punishment prescribed, is substantive law, but indictment is procedural....Reformers have said over the years that the law ought to be simple, intelligible, certain, well arranged, adequately indexed and put into a physical form that will allow copies to be available in public libraries as well as in courts and offices.
HISTORY OF LAW
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