criminal law

American  

noun

1. the laws of a state or country dealing with criminal offenses and their punishments.

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criminal law British  

noun

1. the body of law dealing with the constitution of offences and the punishment of offenders

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Etymology

Origin of criminal law

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

And there’s this one, a pioneering one in California criminal law: a crime even without a corpse, the body of evidence — the corpus delicti.

From Los Angeles Times

The judges said that while "a very small number" of Palestine Action's activities met the legal test for acts of terrorism, the standard criminal law could be used to confront the group.

From BBC

Mr. Smith’s career has been marked by unusual zeal to push novel theories stretching criminal law beyond reasonable bounds.

From The Wall Street Journal

Prof Jeremy Horder, a criminal law expert at London School of Economics, said he feared an "over-broad false statement law" could "have an unduly chilling effect on the speech of conscientious people and media outlets".

From BBC

“States can prosecute federal officials when they violate state criminal laws,” said Bryna Godar, staff attorney at the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

From The Wall Street Journal