Cyril Minerva Esmeria

The Cause of The Evil Caused

“El que es causa de la causa es causa del mal causado” or, He who is the cause of the

cause is the cause of the evil caused. This is a Spanish Maxim used in Law, or Criminal Law

specifically. At first read, it isn’t that easy to understand and is a bit complicated. But once

understood, what seems to be nonsense at first will now make sense.

He who is the cause of the cause is the cause of the evil caused. This is applied in court

judgements. It only means that if someone did an action that caused another “evil” action, though

unintentional, you are still the main root or the cause of that event. Even if you say that you did

not mean it, did not expect any of it, or you did not wish for that event to happen, your actions still

caused it, therefore making you the cause of the evil caused.

Many people involved in an incident may always say that they mean nothing of an incident

to happen as an excuse. This is why knowing this maxim is very much important. Ignorance cannot

be used as an excuse, for it can be cured with knowledge and right information. It is important for

people to know what this maxim really means, why is it used in judgement, and what is the basis

of this statement.

Let’s be situational. A friend of yours who is scared of the dark, walked alone at a cold

winter night. You, as his friend, tried to scare him off, followed him and pretended to be a criminal.

You grabbed him by his waist and shoulders, and due to panicking, your friend tried to maul you

and ran away. In such a hurry and heavy breathing, your friend didn’t have a clear vision of where

was he up to, and wasn’t able to see the car running fast. Your friend accidentally got bumped by

the car. Although it was an accident, you were still the cause of the incident. It is because if it

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weren’t for your prank on your friend, he wouldn’t have gotten scared, run away, and got bumped

by a car. Another situation. A group of people continuously bully a person, although it was just

really a joke for them. The person being bullied day by day got so much hurt and got to the point

of having suicidal thoughts. One day, she attempted suicide because of what she was experiencing.

The people who bullied her though it was nothing serious for them, are the cause of the incident.

Even if it wasn’t their intention to push the girl to commit or attempt suicide, it was still because

of their actions that she decided to do such. Both situations may show that the cause of the evil

caused has no intentions of doing such. It was not their plan nor their wants. Despite, they are still

the main cause of the accidents that happened.

This maxim must show that people must learn how they are responsible for their actions

and how do these affect the people around him. Even the slightest of his/her actions can affect

people with or without him/her knowing it. He/she must also think of the possible consequences

of his/her actions towards himself/herself and towards the people surrounding him/her.

This also calls for the dissemination of information towards the people who might not know

of this. The people can be easily informed about the basic information about the laws, rights, and

responsibilities through social media, since it can reach everyone easily, and/or through schools,

so that people of young age will be informed as early as they can be.

People must know their rights and responsibilities as a citizen of this country. Again,

ignorance cannot be used as an excuse. It can always be cured with knowledge and right

information. “Duura lex sed lex law.” The law is harsh, but it is the law.

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