KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: How criminal offenses are dealt with

It’s human nature to get angry when someone wrongs you. When you get angry, you start to think of all the ways to seek justice for the wrong done to you. The only legal way to seek justice is to report that person to the police and have the court of law decide that person’s fate. However, before you report to the police, it’s important to first know if what you are reporting them for is a criminal offense. This is because article 3 of the penal code of Rwanda states: “A person shall not be punished on account of an act or omission that did not constitute an offence at the time of commission under national or international law.” This means that despite how angry you are, if what that person has done is not illegal, then they cannot be locked up or punished any other way. At the same time, when you report someone, the amount of anger you feel will not always be equal to the punishment that person gets. Paragraph two, article 3 of the penal code says: “A person shall not be penalized for a heavier penalty than that which was provided for by law at the time the offence was committed.” If a few years later, the punishment for the offense committed against you is increased, you cannot go back and ask that the person who wronged you be given the new punishment. This is for two reasons. The first reason is stated in paragraph three, article 3 of the penal code which says, “An offence shall not be punishable by penalties which were not provided for by the law published before its commission.” The second reason is because article 6 of the penal code prohibits double jeopardy. This means that a person cannot be punished more than once for the same crime. Also, in punishing a person who has done something lawfully wrong, and according to article 4 of the penal code, “Criminal laws shall not be interpreted to extensively, they must be construed strictly.” Simply put, the person administering a punishment has to follow the law and not their own emotions or interpretations. Additionally, courts of law are not allowed to provide punishments by comparing one case with another. This is not say that people who wrong you will get away with it. Most of the wrongdoings committed by people are criminal. Therefore, the justice system will come through for you more often than not.

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KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: How criminal offenses are dealt with