Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Criminal offense
(2,330 words)

1. Definition

Today, a criminal offense is understood to be an illegal, culpable act that corresponds to the elements of a crime as defined by criminal law; a delict under civil law, a tort under common law. A distinction is made between crimes and misdemeanors or transgressions according t…

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Gschwend, Lukas and Good, Christoph, “Criminal offense”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_028356>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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