PSYC 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: English Criminal Law, Provincial Superior, Incest

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 102
• Professor: Barry Cartwright

Document Summary

And rules estab. by govt. through the courts and criminal code in order to ensure public safety. Includes definitions of crimes, criminal responsibility, punishments, and defenses to criminal charges. Criminal laws include both a prohibition, and a prescribed punishment. Violation of public order, prosecuted by the state . Burden of proof: beyond a reasonable doubt. Infringement of contract of rights of another citizen. Party who feels wronged brings civil suit. Results in an award of damages (eg. , monetary compensation) Most of the criminal laws in canada - murder, robbery, assault - were inherited from. England doesn"t have a criminal code per se. ; rather english criminal law operates on the principle of common law . Canada adopted its own criminal code in 1892, although it retained to power to create common law until the 1950s. English body of law defined through successive decisions by judges, over generations and even over centuries (common law is not defined through legislation)