Criminal law can be defined as law that

Criminal elements are set forth in criminal statutes, or cases in jurisdictions that allow for common-law crimes.
With exceptions, every crime has at least three elements:

Criminal law is the body of rules and statutes defining the offences against the community at large.
It regulates how suspects are investigated, charged and tried.
The law also provides the punishments for convicted offenders.
This is also termed as penal law.

Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime.
It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self.
Most criminal law is established by statute, which is to say that the laws are enacted by a legislature.