The objective of this paper is to categorically study common and traditional acts which are punished under criminal law and compare them to others which are not defined as crimes. Studying traditional crimes such as murder, rape, theft and their attempts, and comparing them to acts which are excluded from the scope of criminal law will allow the determination of conditions under which defining an act as a crime is normatively justifiable. These conditions can be used in future research to evaluate the desirability of extending the scope of criminal law to non-traditional fields of potential regulation.