The criminal action develops from a crime.
Criminal action is one that originates from a crime and involves the imposition of punishment on the person responsible in accordance with what is established by law. In this way, the criminal action is the starting point of the judicial process .
The origins of criminal action date back to the times when the State gained a monopoly on the use of force; By inaugurating criminal action, it replaced personal revenge and self-defense, as the State is the one that assumes the defense and compensation of its citizens.
Criminal action and the State
Criminal action, therefore, represents an exercise of power by the State and a right to protection for citizens who suffer the consequences of a crime committed against them.
In a philosophical sense, criminal action is one of the ways that the State has to reestablish social peace that was altered by the commission of a crime. The promotion of a criminal action can be exercised both by the state power and by individuals.
Once a criminal action has been initiated, its first stage consists of the investigation (the search for evidence), the prosecution (the exercise of the action before the competent court) and the accusation (a punishment is demanded). During the trial , each of these steps is carried out and, based on the action, the judge is responsible for issuing the resolution in accordance with the provisions of current laws.
A criminal action can lead to a conviction.
Types and forms
There are two types of criminal action, public and private . The first refers to what concerns the public ministry, without prejudice to the participation of the victim, and the second corresponds to the victim specifically.
There is also a type of action that is classified as public criminal action at a private request , which exists when the exercise of public action depends strictly on a private instance. In such a situation, the public ministry must present an instance to be able to represent said action. .
The facts that can be pursued by private action are violations of property, injury or defamation affecting an individual or violation of industrial property.
For its part, the private instance can pursue de facto means, blows and wounds that leave injuries, threats, robberies without weapons and without violence, scams and falsification of deeds or documents, among others. In this case, the action arises when the victim files a complaint and, from that moment, the persecution of the accused begins.
Exercise and termination of criminal action
When the punishable act has been carried out against an incapacitated person or a minor by one of their parents or guardians, who would theoretically be their representatives, for obvious reasons it is the public ministry that exercises the action.
There are cases in which the criminal action can be extinguished , such as when the accused or the victim dies (as long as their heirs do not continue with the action), amnesty is offered, the accusation is abandoned, the term of the conditional suspension expires. of the criminal procedure or prescription or withdrawal of the private instance (if the public action depends on it).
It is also important to note that civil action can be exercised simultaneously with criminal action, as long as the rules established in the criminal procedure code are respected. Sometimes they are dealt with jointly and sometimes separately in civil courts; In the latter case , the exercise is paralyzed until a verdict is issued .