the body of laws regulating how crimes are to be punished
criminal code in American English
noun Law
1.
the aggregate of statutory enactments pertaining to criminal offenses
2.
a systematic and integrated statement of the rules and principles pertaining to criminal offenses
Word origin
[1780–90]This word is first recorded in the period 1780–90. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: alignment, carbon, classification, fluff, rosette
Examples of 'criminal code' in a sentence
criminal code
Today the court took its decision in the framework of the current criminal code.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
419 scams are named for a clause in which country's criminal code?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
A peculiarly arbitrary feature of the criminal code allows the arrest of people innocent of any crime: they need only be judged 'dangerous'.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Russia's criminal code also rules out extradition of a citizen for committing a crime abroad, a second legal line of defence.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
And since the law of trespass could be used as blanket legal justification for removing vehicles on private land, the criminal code needed no amendment.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It would, in any case, have been grossly improper to have changed the criminal code retrospectively to provide for his trial.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The modern criminal code states that a prosecution may go ahead only if 'a request to prosecute by the foreign government exists'.