Awrong, orwrength (fromOld Englishwrang – 'crooked'),[1] is an act that is illegal, incorrect, orimmoral.[2]Legal wrongs are usually quite clearly defined in thelaw of astate orjurisdiction. They can be divided intocivil wrongs andcrimes (orcriminal offenses) incommon law countries,[2] whilecivil law countries tend to have some additional categories, such ascontraventions.Moral wrong is an underlying concept for legal wrong. Somemoral wrongs are punishable by law, for examplerape ormurder.[2] Other moral wrongs have nothing to do with law but are related to unethical behaviours.[3] On the other hand, some legal wrongs, such as many types of parking offences, could hardly be classified as moral wrongs.[2]
Aviolation of law is any act, or less commonly a failure to act, that fails to abide by existinglaw. Violations generally include bothcrimes andcivil wrongs. Some acts, such asfraud, can violate civil and criminal laws. In law, a wrong can be alegal injury, which is any damage resulting from a violation of alegal right. A legal wrong can also imply being contrary to the principles of justice or law. It means that something is contrary to conscience or morality and results in treating others unjustly. If the loss caused by a wrong is minor enough, there is no compensation, which principle is known asde minimis non curat lex, otherwise the damages apply. The law of England recognised the concept of a "wrong" before it recognised the distinction betweencivil wrongs (governed bycivil law) and crimes (defined bycriminal law), which distinction was developed during the 13th century.[4]
Civil law violations usually lead tocivil penalties likefines, criminal offenses to more severepunishments. The severity of the punishment should reflect the severity of the violation (retributive justice).[5] In realistic situations and for minor violations,altruistic punishment was shown not "to fit the crime".[6] This subdivision is similar to the distinction betweenmisdemeanours, andfelonies.[7] Other examples of violations of the law include:
Infraction, in United States law, minor orpetty offenses that do not requirejury trial. In common usage, "violations" are treated as synonymous with infractions
Willful violation, in U.S. law, an act with intentional disregard for a regulation, statute, and policy
Infringement, various violations of laws or rights, usually used in the context of intellectual property
Look upwrongdoing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Look upviolation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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