Terminological and historical backgrounds of the criminal law development: from the private law sector to the public law sector

The paper describes the development of criminal law as the originally private law sector and points to changes that ultimately have changed the nature of criminal law so that it is now considered to be a public law sector. Criminal law during the period of the high and late Middle Ages on the territory of Slovakia had the character of a public law sector. Recovery after committing the crime was left to the injured person or his family. The relationship between the injured (or his survivors) and the perpetrator was largely private in nature. The state originally did not interfere or interfere only at a minimum with this relationship. Only in the course of time has this element of a largely private legal relationship been also given a public-law element, only in the age of Modern Times the criminal-law relations had the character of public law. This article describes the changes that have occurred in the course of time in the area of criminal law, the ways of punishment, and the changes which have led to the transformation of criminal law into the public law sector