Philosophy of criminal law research papers academia. The timorese criminal justice system is based on the ideas of legality, culpability. Sep 15, 2015 american criminal law is committed to some version of the doctrine of double effect dde. Criminology from latin crimen, accusation, and ancient greek, logylogia, from logos meaning. It will be an excellent resource for undergraduate and law school courses in legal philosophy. Utility and significance of jurisprudence jurisprudence is basically a theoretical subject but it. Most philosophers of criminal law agree that between criminal offences and defences there is a significant, substantial difference. The following is one perspective of what the law is. In particular, i argue for a nonabsolute version of dde that concerns the relative culpability of intending a bad or wrongful state of affairs as opposed. Brand succeeds at doing justice to the complexity of the subject matter while making it accessible. Brown the purpose of international criminal law is to establish the criminal responsibility of individuals for international crimes. Concepts, cases, and controversies, 2009, 639 pages, matthew lippman, 1412981298, 9781412981293, sage publications, 2009. We also have free study guides and assignment guides for law students.
The aims of criminal law the prevention of harm forms the basis for the. The philosophy of criminal law douglas husak oxford. They have also enacted guidelines and penalties for industrial and commercial sources such as oil refineries, power plants, garbage dumps, automobiles, steel mills and also chemical plants such as dry cleaning and. This volume collects 17 of douglas husaks influential essays in criminal law theory. This entry begins by identifying features of criminal law that make this so 1. Criminal law and procedure 01 introduction page 4 of 19 a formal rules logical, formal reasoning. It further addresses the reasons for punishment and divides the answer into two parts. It is a difference, however, that has proved hard to pin down. Covers a wide variety of topics including criminalization of obscenity and hate speech, the insanity defense, pleas of selfdefense by battered women, the death penalty, and clemency. Hart and patrick devlin are examined, as are the empirical and policy claims of paul robinson and his collaborators.
These appearances reflect a fair proportion of the reality. It then asks what functions that body of law fulfills 2, and what justifies its creation and continued existence 3. A catalogue record for this book is available from the british library. A person who, before the commission of a crime, has reached the age of 16 years shall be subject to criminal responsibility. The nature of law stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. The philosophy of law, as its name implies, normally proceeds from the standpoint of the discipline of philosophy e. The law and philosophy program lpp is a joint endeavor of the school of law and department of philosophy at the university of texas at austin. The first time i sent someone to prison, said derek spencer qc, the new solicitorgeneral, in a recent interview, it was rather like shooting him dead. Let me then comment briefly on some of the specific contributions to the anthology. This article presents the major philosophical issues within criminal law and their relationships to each other. A crime or offence is a legal wrong that can be followed by criminal proceedings which may result in punishment. The theoretical and philosophical foundations of criminal law. First work of its kind in the philosophy of criminal law. Philosophers of law are also concerned with a variety of philosophical problems that arise in particular legal subjects, such as constitutional law, contract law, criminal law, and tort law.
The philosophy of criminal law by larry alexander ssrn. Law and moralityhas proved to be an essential text in both departments of philosophy and faculties of law and this latest edition brings the debates fully up to date, filling gaps in the previous editions and adding to the array of contemporary issues previously covered. Any comprehensive philosophical account of criminal law must, therefore, explain and justify the role of the state, and much work done in the. Our study notes cram notes, model exams and online tutors are here to help you throughout your time at law school. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. In this paper, i defend a new variant of the agentcentered rationale for a version of dde that is of particular relevance to the criminal law. This general question about the nature of law presupposes that law is a unique socialpolitical phenomenon, with more or less universal characteristics that can be discerned through philosophical analysis. Criminology, crime, and criminal law t he joint 1996 wedding ceremony in lincoln, nebraska, of majed altimimy, 28, and latif alhusani, 34, both iraqi refugees who arrived after the first gulf war, was to be a strictly traditional affair with a muslim cleric specially flown in from ohio to perform the ceremony. Chapter 1 historical background of criminal law 1 1.
I had the impression of looking down a gun barrel at him. Part i is titled crime and the function of criminal law, and the three contributors are vincent chiao, joshua kleinfeld, and stuart p. The statute of criminal law 19 chapter two 22 the creation of international criminal tribunals and the courts. Beginning with the premise that the principal function of a criminal trial is to find out the truth about a crime, larry laudan examines the rules of evidence and procedure that would be appropriate if the discovery of the truth were, as higher courts routinely claim, the overriding aim of the criminal justice system. General jurisprudence, as this philosophical inquiry about the nature of law is called, is meant to be universal. Public international law is traditionally focused on the rights.
View philosophy of criminal law research papers on academia. The new philosophy of criminal law explores some important trends in the contemporary philosophy of criminal law the volume serves as a valuable reminder that, although philosophy as a discipline often can be detached from real world issues, it must not necessarily be so. The essays span husaks original and provocative contributions to the major topics in the field, including the grounds of criminal liability, the significance of culpability, the role of defences, and the justification of punishment. It is concerned with legal punishment as the domain of criminal law. Theories of criminal law stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. I show that attention to two aspects of kants political theoryhis accounts of civic freedom and civic virtuecan help us develop a more just model of criminal law. Philosophy of law, also called jurisprudence, branch of philosophy that investigates the nature of law, especially in its relation to human values, attitudes, practices, and political communities. The actus reus of the offence non mens rea element engage in conduct forbidden by the criminal law 2. The university established lpp in 199899 as a combined j. Morality and the criminal law 215 was not prepared to go that far and considered that it was necessary only to show that the corruption of others was unlawful. Any theory of criminal law must explain why criminal law is distinctivewhy it is a body of law worthy of separate attention.
It gives readers access to the latest thinking by the fields best scholars. In the sphere of criminal law, i entertain no doubt that there remains in the courts of law a residual power to enforce the supreme and fundamental purpose. Hart, critique of legal realism in the concept of law 1961 1. Hart, has arguably had the greatest impact on legal philosophy since the 20. The purposes of criminal law it is easy to think of criminal law as an instrument of oppression or at least of repression, a matter of the might of the state pitted against the meagre resources of the offender. To discuss some of the crimes defined in the penal code. Throughout the web of english criminal law one golden thread is always to be seen that, it is the duty of the prosecutor to prove the criminals guilt if, at the end of an on the whole case, there is a reasonable doubt, created by the evidence given by either the prosecution or the prisoner, as. Topics addressed include crime and criminalization. Unicramnotes is the leading online resource for law students in australia. Thus, philosophy of law addresses such diverse topics as theories of contract law, theories of criminal punishment, theories of tort liability, and the.
Criminal law scholarship is enjoying a renaissance in normative theory, evident in a growing list of publications from leading scholars that attempt to elucidate a set of principles on which. In this dissertation, i develop a new theory of criminal law that rests on kantian principles. The oxford handbook of philosophy of criminal law edited by john deigh and david dolinko oxford handbooks. Article 1 criminal legislation of georgia and its purpose. The mens rea of the offence mental state of the defendant a mental state prohibited by the criminal law 3. Our cram notes are short, concise, simple and detailed law notes for all law subjects. Functions of criminal, criminal prosecutions punish tax law violators and deter other persons who would violate those laws. The criminal law chapter one of text what is a crime. We ship law books world wide and stock books and looseleaf works from all major legal publishers. It is, after all, philosophy of criminal law, and criminal law is, at bottom, an exercise of state power. The program makes it possible to complete both degrees in seven years. Duff ra 1990 intention, agency and criminal liability.
In early times, when the first humans appeared on earth, laws were not needed, because. To attribute criminal responsibility and find a person guilty of any criminal or property offence, we need to establish. It begins with three theories of punishment namely, retributive, consequentialist, and threatbased. Society, built upon the principle of law, likewise sways in harmony with legal philosophy. Criminal law and philosophy fills a gap in the scholarly literature by providing a platform for articles that take a philosophical perspective on any issue in the broad field of crime and punishment. The oxford handbook of philosophy of criminal law john.
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