criminal law

noun

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

criminal law

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of criminal law¹

First recorded in 1580–90

Example Sentences

Under French criminal law, the seriousness of the crime cannot alone justify provisional detention.

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As a professor of criminal law, I couldn’t understand the charges in this case while sitting in my library.

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Another important distinction is between violating nonprofit laws versus breaching criminal laws.

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Could a president, declared immune from all domestic criminal law, assert the same awesome power he’s demonstrated abroad, but in his own country?

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But in his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts dismissed such concerns as “fear mongering on the basis of extreme hypotheticals about a future where the President ‘feels empowered to violate federal criminal law.’”

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