Malum Prohibitum Legal Meaning and Definition

Here is a simplified definition of the legal term Malum Prohibitum.

Malum Prohibitum (noun)

Malum Prohibitum refers to actions that are considered crimes because they are specifically defined or introduced as such in law or statute. These actions may not be inherently wrong or evil, but they are illegal because the law declares it so. An example is a 'white collar' crime, such as fraud, which may not seem harmful by conventional standards but is deemed a crime by Malum Prohibitum.