his hand into Z.’s pocket. A. fails in the attempt in consequence of Z. having nothing in his pocket. A. is guilty under this section.”
Passing on to the system of criminal procedure which is set forth in detail in the Code of Criminal Procedure as amended in 1898, it is no doubt modelled on the English system, but with considerable modifications. The principalIndian code of criminal procedure. steps are—(1) arrest by the police and inquiries by the police; (2) the issue of summons or warrant by the magistrate; (3) the mode of procedure before the magistrate, who may either try the accused himself or commit him to the sessions or the High Court, according to the importance of the case; (4) procedure before the court of session; (5) appeals, reference and revision by the High Court.
Elaborate provision is made for the prevention of offences, as regards security for keeping the peace and for good behaviour, the dispersion of unlawful assemblies, the suppression of nuisances, disputes as to immovable property, which in all Oriental countries constitute one of the most frequent causes of a breach of the peace.
Ample provision is thus made for the prevention of offences, and the code next deals with the mode of prosecution of offences actually committed.
As a general rule, every offence is inquired into and tried by the court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction it was committed. Differing from the practice of continental countries, all offences, even attempts, may be prosecuted after any lapse of time. As in England, there is no statutory limitation to a criminal offence.
A simple procedure is provided for what are called summons cases, as distinguished from warrant cases—the first being offences for which a police officer may arrest without warrant, the second being offences where he must have a warrant, or, in other words, minor offences and important offences. In summons cases no formal charge need be framed. The magistrate tells the accused the particulars of the offence charged; if he admits his guilt, he is convicted; if he does not, evidence is taken, and a finding is given in accordance with the facts as proved. When the complaint is frivolous or vexatious, the magistrate has the power to fine the complainant. The code gives power of criminal appeal which goes much further than the system in England.
In cases tried by a jury, no appeal lies as to matters of fact, but it is allowed as to matters of law; in other cases, criminal appeal is admitted on matters of law and fact.
In addition to the system of appeal, the superior courts are entrusted with a power of revision, which is maintained automatically by the periodical transmission to the High Courts of calendars and statements of all cases tried by the inferior courts; and at the same time, whenever the High Court thinks fit, it can call for the record of any trial and pass such orders as it deems right. All sentences of death must be confirmed by the High Court. No appeal lies against an acquittal in any criminal case. This system of appeal, superintendence and revision would be totally inapplicable to England, but it has proved eminently successful as applied to the present social condition of the inhabitants of India. The appeals keep the judges up to their work, revision corrects all grave mistakes, superintendence is necessary as a kind of discipline over the conduct of judges, who are not subjected, as in England, to the criticism of enlightened public opinion.
These Indian codes form the basis of the penal, &c., codes in force in Ceylon (superseding there the Roman-Dutch law), the Straits Settlements, the Sudan and the East Africa protectorates.
It has already been stated that most European states have codified their criminal law. The earliest of continental codes is that of Charles V., promulgated in 1532, and known as Constitutio Criminalis Carolina. Austria madeForeign codes. further codes in 1768 (Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana) and 1787 (Emperor Joseph’s code). A new code was framed in 1803, and amended in 1852 by reference to the Code Napoléon; and in 1906 a completely new code existed in draft. The Hungarian penal code dates from 1880. The Bavarian code of 1768 of Maximilian, revised in 1861, and the Prussian code of 1780, have been superseded by the German penal code of 1872.
The most important of the continental criminal codes are those of France, the Code Pénal (1810) and the Code d’Instruction Criminelle (1808)—the work of Napoleon the Great and his advisers, which professedly incorporate much of the Roman law.
The Belgian codes (1867), and the Dutch penal code (1880), closely follow the French model. In Spain the penal code dates from 1870, the procedure code from 1886. The Spanish American republics for the most part also have codes. Portugal has a penal code (1852). In Italy the procedure code and the penal code, perhaps the completest yet framed, are of 1890. The Swedish code dates from 1864. The Norwegian code was passed in May 1902, and came into force in 1905. Japan has a code based on a study of European and American models; and Switzerland is framing a federal criminal code.
In the United States no federal criminal code is possible; but most states, following the lead of Louisiana, have digested their criminal law and procedure more or less effectually into penal codes. (W. F. C.)
CRIMINOLOGY, the name given to a new branch of social science, devoted to the discussion of the genesis of crime (q.v.), which has received much attention in recent years. The expression
is one of modern coinage, and originated with the speculative theories first advanced by the school of sociologists which had the Italian savant, Professor Lombroso, at its head. He discovered
or was supposed to have discovered a criminal type, the “instinctive” or “born” criminal, a creature who had come into the world predestined to evil deeds, and who could be surely recognized by certain stigmata, certain facial, physical,
even moral birthmarks, the possession of which, presumably
ineradicable, foredoomed him to the commission of crime. Dr
Lombroso, in his ingenious work L’Uomo delinquente, found many
attentive and appreciative, not to say bigoted followers. Large
numbers of dissentients exist, however, and the conclusions of the
Italian school have been warmly contested and on very plausible
grounds. If the doctrines be fully accepted the whole theory of
free-will breaks down, and we are faced with the paradox that
we have no right to punish an irresponsible being who is impelled
to crime by congenital causes, entirely beyond his control.
The “instinctive” criminal, under this reasoning, must be
classed with the lunatic whom we cannot justly, and practically
never do, punish. There are other points on which proof of the
existence of the criminal type fails absolutely. The whole
theory illustrates a modern phase of psychological doctrine,
and the subject has exercised such a potent effect on modern
thought that the claims and pretensions of the Lombroso school
must be examined and disposed of.
The alleged discovery of the “born-criminal” as a separate and distinct genus of the human species was first published by Dr Lombroso in 1876 as the result of long continued investigation and examination of a number of imprisoned criminals. The personality of this human monster was to be recognized by certain inherent moral and physical traits, not all displayed by the same individual but generally appearing in conjunction and then constituting the type. These traits have been defined as follows:—various brain and cerebral anomalies; receding foreheads; massive jaws, prognathous chins; skulls without symmetry; ears long, large and projecting (the ear ad ansa); noses rectilinear, wrinkles strongly marked, even in the young and in both sexes, hair abundant on the head, scanty on the cheeks and chin; eyes feline, fixed, cold, glassy, ferocious; bad repellent faces. Much stress is laid upon the physiognomy, and it is said that it is independent of nationality; two natives of the same country do not so nearly resemble each other as two criminals of different countries. Other peculiarities are:—great width of the extended arms (l’envergure of the French), extraordinary ape-like agility; left-handedness as well as ambi-dexterism; obtuse sense of smell, taste and sometimes of hearing, although the eyesight is superior to that of normal people. “In general,” to quote Lombroso, “the born criminal has projecting ears, thick
