Sunday, December 4, 2016

More than 3, or at least 4?

Band is purportedly defined in the Revised Penal Code in Art. 296 thus:


That does not look as straightforward as definitions should go. How about:
A band is composed of more than three armed malefactors taking part in the commission of a robbery.
And doesn't the sentence look familiar? Yes, because of Article 14.6:


But back to Art. 296, here's a note on Art. 296 by Luis B. Reyes on page 687 of his book The Revised Penal Code, Book Two, 2008 Edition:



Reyes used "at least four" instead of "more than three". Was it just to spin a variation on the sentence?

He is concurred, in the use of "at least four", by Florenz D. Regalado on page 671 of his book Criminal Law Conspectus, Fourth Edition:



But Regalado seems to give a hint on why it is "at least four" not "more than three". He wrote down that "a band" comes from the Spanish en cuadrilla. (There is no need for the word en actually as we shall see later.)

Here's how the online Meriam Webster Dictionary says of the etymology of cuadrilla:
Origin and Etymology of cuadrillaSpanish, diminutive of cuadra square, from Latin quadra
When I think of a square, the number 4 promptly pops up in mind, not 3 plus 1. Right?

So why "more than three"? Because the original Spanish version of the RPC says so. Here's Articulo 296 of the Codigo Penal Revisado:


Interestingly, the original does not say at all that cuadrilla (band) is being defined therein.

Just the same, I submit (favorite word of authors who would like to appear in respectful disagreement with a Supreme Court decision) that "at least four" is better than "more than three" in relation to band. Consider this revision, for instance:

Hay cuadrilla cuando concurren a un robo al menos cuatro malhechores armados.

It's more intuitive, isn't it?

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