The legal term Mala prohibita is a Latin word that means something is wrong because it is not allowed by law. Most societies use the word to imply on the laws that deal with the morality of the society. These laws manage behaviors that are not considered a crime in other regions. The crimes include drug use, government criticism, indecent exposure, copyright infringement, among others (Mostyn, 2012). Categorization of crimes considered as mala prohibita can help a person to understand a nation’s philosophical belief. Among the crimes considered as mala prohibita, copyright violation, causes more damage to the society, and; thus should be punished more severely than others.
The mala prohibita laws are borrowed from the normal laws of a country’s legal system. These crimes are founded on appropriate behavior and societal customs. Some countries regard the violations as serious and carry with them, severe penalties. However, these crimes are regarded as minor offenses in the contemporary society. This makes some of these crimes not to carry stiff penalties in case of violation. In most nations, theft and murder are classified as serious crimes and violation leads to severe penalties (McElroy, 2011). This is because such crimes are violations against others and property of others. These countries treat mala prohibita crimes as crimes that only harm the offender and are considered as victimless crimes.
The crime should lead to severe punishment compares to victimless crime like consuming illegal drugs. Consuming of prohibited drugs is considered a crime in most society; however, the crime does not harm others directly. The harm is not there directly to others, but, only tom the consumers and users (McElroy, 2011). Therefore, this crime should not be punished severely compared to copyright violation, which affects others indirectly. People’s ideas and inventions are affected indirectly when there are crimes related to illegal production of mp3’s. Crimes like use of illegal drugs can be considered an illegality only when they are interpreted as involving individuals and their personal opinions. However, this is in contrast with copyright violation, which has to be considered relative to the consequence it has on others producers, or inventors.
The mala prohibita laws can change depending on the circumstances and situations of the crime. The laws can evolve with time. This happens depending on what is taking place, in the society. The changes are made and effected to reflect the contemporary society. As in the current time the copyright violations should fetch or call for, more severe punishment, to reduce crime. The economic times make persons involve themselves in the crime more as they cannot afford the original copies of music, books among other materials. This is different to drug abuse, prostitution, or pornography as the prevailing conditions make the environmental and crime conditions change. According to, McElroy (2011), use of illegal drugs was once prohibited, but, this changed after some time. This was due to the changes that were taking place in society. Therefore, changes can be effected to reflect the changing attitudes of the society like use of liquor.
In conclusion, the prohibitions indicate the changing societal views in the nation’s laws. The use and enforcement of mala prohibita helps a society to control the actions and behaviors of the citizens. The laws can make one understand and appreciate a society’s beliefs and moralities better (McElroy, 2011). This provides the reason why copyright violations should be punished severely so as to reduce crime. The punishment will aid the liberals and conservatives to understand the rules. In addition, punishment will help citizens to carry themselves well when stiffer laws and penalties are put in place.
References
McElroy, W. (2011). Decriminalize the Average Man. Mises Daily. Retrieved from https://mises.org/daily/5759/Decriminalize-the-Average-Man
Mostyn, B., Gibbon, H. (2012). Drug prohibition makes a mockery of criminal law. The Drum Opinion. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4057632.html
