A revised version of the paper is to appear in criminal law and philosophy. Specifically, the issue is whether a good or permissible motive should exculpate someone who has committed a criminal act. Feb 27, 2020 criminal law, the body of law that defines criminal offenses, regulates the apprehension, charging, and trial of suspected persons, and fixes penalties and modes of treatment applicable to convicted offenders. A great deal of controversy has arisen, however, as to the appropriate legal tests of responsibility. Philosophy of punishment, justice, and cultural conflict in. It is so much easier to memorize and comprehend the subject matter when it is simplified this way.
Since the early 20th century, basic education of criminal justice personnel has primarily focused on developing the skills necessary to be effective in the field. Theories of criminal law stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. It is universally agreed that in appropriate cases persons suffering from serious mental disorders should be relieved of the consequences of their criminal conduct. Criminal law open access articles digital commons network. Additionally, more work needs to be done in figuring out just what we mean when we employ some of the key concepts of the criminal law, chief among them the notion of a voluntary act. Zhen regardless of which side of the pacific individuals reside on, the idea of the government taking property and uprooting citizens tends to evoke a considerable amount of backlash. Although criminal responsibility does not have any explicit role in english criminal law, it does pervade the system, and the problem with the lack of any generally agreed approach is perhaps most starkly exposed when the mental condition defences are contested in court. The philosophy of action and its implications for criminal law. Five preeminent legal theorists tackle a range of fundamental questions on the nature of the philosophy of criminal law. Regardless of these differences, criminal law philosophers are united by their quest for the. The concept of entrapment article pdf available in criminal law and philosophy 124. Few deny that one function of criminal law is to deliver justified punishment.
Request pdf the philosophy of criminal law in this fairly lengthy essay, i attempt to bring. Some go further and claim that this is the sole function of criminal law moore 1997, 2829. At some time in the development of each society, when one person injured another, it became the responsibility of the victim or the victims family to seek redress. Their essays explore the extent to which and the ways in which our systems of criminal law can be seen as rational and principled. Generalization of the sort my thesis requires is obviously difficult in the face of these vast, internally divergent groups. For full functionality of researchgate it is necessary to enable javascript. It is concerned with legal punishment as the domain. News about crime and criminals, including commentary and archival articles published in the new york times.
This article is brought to you for free and open access by flash. Elliott and quinns criminal law 8th edition is an established, reliable and popular textbook, covering english criminal law comprehensively, but download criminal law pdf genial ebooks download the ebook criminal law in pdf or epub format and read it directly on your mobile phone, computer or any device. Maoz and yaffe clearly think that neuroscience can make a real contribution to enhancing the tools of the criminal law. The goal of improving public health involves the use of different tools, with the law being one way to influence the activities of institutions and individuals. A remarkably persistent dispute in the criminal law concerns the relevance of a defendants motive to his or her criminal liability. The social scientist who finds himself on the bench can. Applied psychology in criminal justice, 2017, 2 172 effective leadesrship in law enforcement materials participants were provided with an openended survey that identified several issues related to leadership characteristics, leader traitsskills, and matters regarding leadership effectiveness. The fordham law archive of scholarship and history. What is the most central issue in the philosophy of criminal law. Criminal law and philosophy, volume, issue 2 springer. Criminal law and philosophy read 497 articles with impact on researchgate, the professional network for scientists. Philosophical analysis and the criminal law new criminal.
Rules of criminal procedure and evidence, on this view, help facilitate the imposition of justified punishment, while keeping the risk of. Antony duffs the realm of criminal law offers an appealing moral reconstruction of the criminal law. 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. These appearances reflect a fair proportion of the reality.
Any theory of criminal law must explain why criminal law is distinctivewhy it is a body of law. The case for decriminalizing drugs, and the legalization of drugs. Criminal law and philosophy aims to publish high quality articles that take a philosophical perspective on any issues in the broad field of crime and punishment. Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law s relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. This entry begins by identifying features of criminal law that make this so 1.
Baron is rudy professor of philosophy at indiana university. Canadian criminal law videos and latest news articles. This is a comprehensive handbook in the philosophy of criminal law. Two overarching principles of criminal law, both deeply rooted in comparative law and philosophy, are the principle of culpability and the principle of legality. In examining the eminent domain practices of the united states and china, this paper will. The latest part of the criminal law journal includes the following articles.
The journal publishes articles that use all approaches in both fields. List of books and articles about criminal law online. Criminal law, philosophy and public health practice edited by. Judicial opinions issued between 200512 that discussed the use of neuroscience or behavioral genetics by criminal defendants were identified, coded and analysed. Of the regulatory mechanisms afforded by law to achieve this end, criminal law remains a perennial mechanism to delimit the scope of. Article in ssrn electronic journal may 2001 with 89 reads. According to the orthodox rule, the defendants motive is strictly irrelevant to liability. Jan 14, 2016 the goal of this study was to examine the growing use of neurological and behavioral genetic evidence by criminal defendants in us criminal law. The first part, titled rethinking the philosophical.
Learn more about the principles and types of criminal law in this article. The explanation of criminal behavior is of interest to the sociologist, the psychologist, the psychiatrist, the anthropologist, and the biologist. Paul mccutcheon i the relationship between law and morality represents a major theme in jurisprudence and is the subjectmatter of this article. A tort is a civil wrong committed against an individual. It contains seventeen essays by thinkers in the field and covers the fields major topics including limits to criminalization, obscenity and hate speech, blackmail, the law of rape, attempts, accomplice liability, causation, responsibility, justification and excuse, duress, provocation and selfdefense, insanity, punishment. Gender issues in the criminal law oxford handbooks. Criminal law and philosophy rg journal impact rankings. He is a leading figure in the philosophy of criminal law and has written numerous journal articles and books, including overcriminalisation, legalize this. These articles cover a broad range of topics about the nature of penal liability, criminal law culpability, defences, and the justification of punishment. It provides detailed analysis of what is happening in the courtsat every level from magistrates court right up to the supreme court and the european court of human rights.
Criminal law uses a twostep process to augment learning, called the applied approach. Motive, intention, and morality in the criminal law whitley. Hart, jit i introduction in trying to formulate the aims of the criminal law, it is important to be aware both of the reasons for making the effort and of the nature of the problem it poses. The second reason is that for the criminal law to maintain its moral force we need i believe to be able to justify criminal punishment on moral grounds while at the same time having a criminal justice system that resonates with the very people to protect and serve whom it was created. Criminal law and philosophy, volume 0, issue 0 springer. Criminal law, neuroscience, and voluntary acts journal of. 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. Douglas husak is professor of philosophy and law at rutgers university. Many people have strong views on punishment, which influence the behaviors and decision of criminal administrators, politicians, and officers. In addition, it publishes work in any of the major legal traditions, including common.
Pioneer series articles on bentham, beccaria, garofolo, lombroso, ferri, goring, tarde, durkheim, and bonger. Using rich data linking federal cases from arrest through to sentencing, we find that initial case and defendant characteristics, including arrest offense and criminal history, can explain most of the large raw racial disparity in federal sentences, but significant gaps remain. In this fairly lengthy essay, i attempt to bring theoretical unity to the general part of the criminal law by viewing the issues of the general part the voluntary act requirement, mens rea, culpability, attempts, defenses, etc. Alexander, lawrence, the philosophy of criminal law may 15, 2001. The theory of criminal justice is the branch of philosophy of law that deals with criminal justice. Why the lazarus litigation demonstrates no need for s 61he of the crimes act to be changed except in one minor respect andrew dyer. However, becoming proficient in the law takes more. Oxford handbook of philosophy of criminal law oxford handbooks. Neuroscience and behavioral genetics in us criminal law. I shall focus on the use of the criminal law to enforce morality and, in particular, i shall consider whether an identi. First, after building a strong foundation from scratch, criminal law introduces you to crimes and defenses that have been broken down into separate components.
Other articles where criminal responsibility is discussed. Compulsorily obtained material and interference with criminal processes simon frauenfelder. Husak reprints 15 of his earlier essays in the philosophy of criminal law and add two previously unpublished pieces collected from philosophy journals, law. The first page of the pdf of this article appears above. The international criminal court was set up as a court of last resort to prosecute the most serious crimes under international law when its member states are either unable or unwilling to act. The philosophy of punishment is a part of the criminal justice culture and society. Criminal law and procedure 01 introduction page 1 of 19 introduction to criminal law i overview of criminal law a introduction the study of criminal law is concerned with the attribution of criminal responsibility by legal institutions.
I agree that the criminal law should be understood to predicate punishment upon sufficient proof that the defendant has committed a public wrong for which she is being held to account and censured. Many thanks also to helen beebee and the ahrc science and culture awards for the initial opportunity to explore the topic. A debate 1997, as well as articles on kantian ethics, humes ethics, and philosophical issues in criminal law. Law and philosophy serves as a forum for the publication of work in law and philosophy that is of common interest to individuals in the disciplines of jurisprudence and legal philosophy.
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