Unlawful acts violate legal laws, rules, and duties. Different countries have different systems for regulating behavior, such as common law or civil law. Violating legal duties can result in civil or criminal penalties, with criminal penalties requiring a fair trial. Attempting or planning a wrongful act can also be punishable by criminal penalties.
An unlawful act is a violation of the legal laws, rules and duties of a company. In every civil society there is a code of conduct that regulates people’s behavior. If a person violates this code of conduct, the violating action is considered a wrongful act.
There are many different codes and systems for regulating behavior. Some countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, operate under a common law system. Other countries, such as France, operate under a civil law system.
In a common law system, there are several sources of law. The legislative or executive body can pass formal statutory laws, which are written laws published in code books. Judges can also make law in the form of jurisprudence, which means that when a judge makes a rule, that rule also applies in other cases.
In a civil law system, all law is written, codified law, so common law or judge-made rules are not legally enforceable. France is a civil law system, and even Louisiana in the United States has incorporated many civil law principles into its state courts. In a civil law system, only this written formal law is enforced.
Regardless of where the law comes from, the law imposes legal duties on every person. Violation of these legal duties usually results in some form of fine. Sanctions can be both civil and criminal.
An unlawful act that constitutes a violation of criminal law subjects a person to criminal penalties. For example, in every country, criminal law stipulates that a person must not kill anyone else. A violation of this criminal law can subject the murderer to penalties that include imprisonment or death.
When a person commits an unlawful criminal act, only a government official can bring charges related to the criminal act. In most jurisdictions, criminal penalties can only be imposed after a fair trial. In the United States, the due process clause of the Constitution grants a person a trial in which the prosecutor must prove the individual’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before criminal penalties can be imposed for the wrongful act.
By definition, all wrongful acts require physical action. A person cannot be punished for having thought of doing something illegal or wishing he had done something illegal. However, as soon as a person takes steps to carry out an unlawful act, even if it is merely preliminary, the person may be subject to criminal penalties. For example, attempted murder laws and conspiracy laws prohibit the planning or attempt of a wrongful act, making the planning itself a wrongful criminal action punishable by criminal penalties.
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