The criminal law is a body of rules that is part of the laws of the land that defines crimes and provides for its punishment. This branch of law specifically focuses on the crimes and punishments. This law, like all other laws, has procedural and substantive aspects. The Rules on Criminal Procedure under the Rules of Court provide for the procedures of prosecuting and defending criminals before the courts of justice. The substantive laws on the other hand define and provide for the essential elements of the crimes. It explains the requisites for an act or omission to fall within one crime or another. The elements of the crime are explained under the substantive aspect of the criminal law. According to the list of definitions of crimes, the commission of acts prohibited by law and the omission of certain conducts required by law constitutes a crime.
To prove such crime as committed by the accused, the prosecutor should comply with the rules provided for trial. These rules set forth the guidelines for filing a complaint, trying the case, arresting the accused, search and seizure of places and persons, the rights of the accused, and the powers of the prosecutors to conduct investigations in finding probable cause to indict the accused. Since every crime is a violation not only against the private complainant’s rights but it is also an outrage to the moral senses of the public and society, hence the government through the district prosecutors are given the authority to conduct criminal investigation and file proper charges if warranted according to the facts and evidence gathered.
The substantive aspect of criminal law is the meat of the law itself. The substantive penal laws define the crimes by providing the essential requisites or elements of the crime without which the act cannot be considered illegal or criminal. It is also the aspect of law that lawyers base their arguments to substantially convict or acquit the accused. These substantive laws are usually logically twisted and reasonably understood in various ways depending on the nature, facts, and circumstances of the accusation.
The procedural aspect guides the lawyers on the technicalities of prosecuting and defending the accused from the moment of its investigation, indictment, promulgation of the decision, up to its finality and execution. On the other hand, the substantive part of criminal law defines the crimes by providing the elements that would qualify an act or series of acts as a specific crime. These procedural and substantive aspects of criminal law are essential in determining the guilt or innocence of the accused and in the pursuit and administration of justice. Failure to comply with these rules, misapprehension of facts, and misapplication of the law results in the blatant miscarriage of justice. This allows the real criminals run scot-free while innocent accused are rotting in jails and the victims still seeking the truth and justice. This situation does not only prevent justice form being served but it also renders injustice to more persons such as those innocent persons wrongfully accused of the crime in addition to the already private complainants.