Decriminalization or
decriminalisation is the abolition of
criminal penalties in relation to certain acts, perhaps retroactively, though perhaps regulated permits or fines might still apply (for contrast, see:
legalization). The reverse process is
criminalization.
Decriminalization reflects changing social and
moral views. A society may come to the view that an act is not harmful, should no longer be criminalized, or is otherwise not a matter to be addressed by the
criminal justice system. Examples of subject matter which have been the subject of changing views on criminality over time in various societies and countries include:
While decriminalized acts are no longer crimes under local or state law, they may still be the subject of penalties under federal law; for example a monetary fine in place of a criminal charge for the possession of a decriminalized drug. This should be contrasted with
legalization, which removes all or most legal detriments from a previously illegal act.
Legalization (also spelled
legalisation) is the process of removing a
legal prohibition against something which is currently not legal.
Legalization is a process often applied to what are regarded, by those working towards legalization, as
victimless crimes, of which one example is the consumption of
illegal drugs (see
drug legalization).
Legalization should be contrasted with
decriminalization, which removes criminal charges from an action, but leaves intact associated laws and regulations.
Proponents of
libertarianism support legalization of what they regard as victimless crimes, such as
recreational drug and alcohol use,
gun ownership, and
prostitution.
In
U. S. immigration context, the term "legalization" is colloquially used to refer to a process whereby a person illegally present in the country can obtain
lawful permanent residence. Since 1929, the US law has provided the legalization procedure known as
registry, which simply requires the applicant to prove that he has continuously resided in the country since before a certain specified "registry date" (originally, 1921; presently, 1972), and is not inadmissible on other grounds (criminal history,
etc.).
[1][2] One legalization proposal that was widely discussed recently[
when?] was the
DREAM Act.
