Difference Between Crime and Delict

Crime vs Delict

Crime and Delict are two words that are often confused when it comes to the understanding of their concepts and meanings. Strictly speaking, there is difference between them in terms of their concepts. The word ‘crime’ is used in the sense of ‘offence’. On the other hand, the word delict is an intentional or negligent act, which paves the way for legal obligation between two parties. This is the main difference between the two words.

It is important to know that delict is willful offence or willful wrong. On the other hand, crime can happen even without intention. It can be accidental too. Delict cannot happen accidentally. This is an important difference between the concepts of the two terms.

侵权行为results due to the neglect of duty. The duty of bringing up a child or the duty of looking of parents if neglected becomes a delict and is punishable by law. As a matter of fact the punishment for delict may not be as severe as the punishment one would receive for a crime.

On the other hand, crime is broad in the sense that it includes several wrongs such as murder, rape, fraud and the like. Cheating a bank is a crime, killing a person is a crime and raping a girl is also a crime. Each crime is punishable under a certain section of law. The punishment for various crimes differs according to the impact of the crime on the society or the affected person or the family concerned.

The word ‘crime’ is also used figuratively in some cases. ‘He has committed the crime’ can figuratively mean ‘he has committed the great mistake’. In this sentence the word ‘crime’ is used in the sense of ‘great mistake’. These are the differences between the words crime and delict.