Editing Crime (section)

=== Legalism ===
{{Main|Legalism (Western philosophy)}}
Legal and political definitions of crime consider actions that are banned by authorities or punishable by law.{{Sfn|Fattah|1997|pp=31–35}} Crime is defined by the criminal law of a given jurisdiction, including all actions that are subject to [[criminal procedure]]. There is no limit to what can be considered a crime in a legal system, so there may not be a unifying principle used to determine whether an action should be designated as a crime.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lamond |first=G. |date=2007-01-01 |title=What is a Crime? |url=https://academic.oup.com/ojls/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/ojls/gqm018 |journal=Oxford Journal of Legal Studies |language=en |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=609–632 |doi=10.1093/ojls/gqm018 |issn=0143-6503}}</ref> From a legal perspective, crimes are generally wrong actions that are severe enough to warrant punishment that infringes on the perpetrator's liberties.{{Sfn|Ashworth|Horder|2013|pp=1–2}} 

[[English criminal law]] and the related [[common law]] of [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries can define offences that the courts alone have developed over the years, without any actual legislation: [[common law offence]]s. The courts used the concept of ''[[malum in se]]'' to develop various common law offences.<ref>''Canadian Law Dictionary'', John A. Yogis, Q.C., Barrons: 2003</ref>