Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) is a substantive law whereas Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1908 is a procedural law.
Each one exists as a separate item yet is wholly dependent on the other. This is evidenced by the fact that without the PPC, the provisions and procedures of the CrPC could not be enforced as there would be no definition of any crime and no possible sanction relating to that crime. Conversely, without the CrPC the sanctions and punishments as set out in the PPC could not be applied to a convicted person.
Under the adversarial system in terms of which the criminal justice system in Pakistan is based, it is of great importance that these two pieces of legislation co-exist in order to ensure both the substantive and procedural fairness of a trial.
The difference in each piece of legislation is simply based on the purpose for which that piece of legislation has been enacted, namely –
in the case of the PPC, to provide a general penal code for Pakistan; and
in the case of the CrPC, to consolidate the law relating criminal procedure in Pakistan.
On a brief considering the aspects of an adversarial system of law which governs the legal system in Pakistan, and the codes which govern this system, it can be noted that –
the PPC, which pertains to substantive law, outlines the various crimes which may be committed, and the five broad categories of punishment which these crimes would invoke;
the CrPC, pertaining to procedural law, relates to the mandatory procedures which must be enacted during the administration of a criminal trial;
while these codes are different in nature, they are wholly dependent on each other; and
without the application of these codes in criminal law in Pakistan, substantive and procedural fairness in criminal trials could not be ensured.
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