WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF THE CRIME? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The elements of the crime are those actions, characteristics and people involved in the execution of an unlawful action that goes against the law.

Within the theory of crime, up to seven key factors are listed that allow determining whether or not there is a violation of the criminal code.

The theory of crime is a classification system that lists various elements to judge an action and consider it a crime. They are about the subjects, the action, typicality, unlawfulness, imputability, guilt and penalty.

The types of crimes make up a very extensive list, so these concepts are usually interpretable to some extent.

The elements that make up a crime

The crime as such is made up of several non-independent parts, so they are related and conditioned according to a larger concept.

These relationships and dependencies are those that dictate the legality of a fact. Within the criminal sphere, it may be left to a judge or a jury.

1- Subjects

Subjects represent the roles of the victim and the perpetrator in a crime. They are separated into an active subject (the one who commits the crime) and a taxable person (who suffers the crime).

In turn, the taxpayer can be personal or impersonal. A personal taxable person is a natural person who is the victim of a crime, the impersonal taxable person refers to the case where the victim of a crime is a legal or moral person (such as a public limited company).

2- Action

The action is the act itself that leads to the crime (for example shooting a person).

To judge an action within the crime, there are several factors to take into account, such as the willingness of the active subject. When the crime is executed by the absence of an action, it is called omission.

3- Typicity

It corresponds to the degree of subjectivity in human behavior when committing a crime.

Typicity measures whether an act is typical or not in humans, and from that point on it refers to the law, where it seeks to classify such conduct to verify whether it constitutes a crime or not.

4- Unlawfulness

Whether or not a conduct is typical (typicity), it must be punishable by law to be considered a crime.

Unlawfulness can lead to several loopholes when an act can be seen as a crime but is not established in the law. An example of unlawfulness is legitimate defense.

5- Imputability

Imputability encompasses a series of physical and mental conditions that make a person indictable for a crime. If these conditions are not met, the subject cannot be tried according to the penal code.

The responsibility covers above all the non-majority and mental illnesses or disabilities.

6- Guilt

Guilt is the factor that determines whether or not a person is responsible for an illegal action.

It is perhaps the element that brings together all the other conditions of a crime, since to judge the guilt of a person it is necessary to analyze the elements mentioned above.

7- Penalty

The penalty is not accepted by all perpetrators as an element of the crime. It corresponds to the sentence that a person receives when he is found guilty of a crime.

References

1. Carla Santaella (nd). Practical Guide to Law. Elements of Crime. Retrieved on December 11, 2017, from Monographs.
2. Jorge Machicado (2013). What are the elements of the Crime? Retrieved on December 11, 2017, from Apuntes Jurídicas.
3. Delict (2007). Retrieved on December 11, 2017, from Legal Dictionary.
4. Elements of the theory of crime (nd). Retrieved on December 11, 2017, from Iberley.
5. In what cases is an unimpeachable person? (June 27, 2016). Retrieved on December 11, 2017, from UIK.