Criminal Law

Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. The cited article says it proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety and welfare of people, including oneself, and that most criminal law is established by statute, enacted by a legislature. It includes the punishment and rehabilitation of persons who violate such laws, and it varies by jurisdiction. It differs from civil law, where the emphasis is on dispute resolution or victim compensation rather than on punishment or rehabilitation. Criminal procedure, the formalized official activity that authenticates the commission of a crime and authorizes punitive or rehabilitative treatment of the offender, is treated alongside it. Doctrines grouped under this entry are the ones concerned with crime and its consequences.