Criminal Law

Criminal law defines offences against the public and the conditions of guilt and punishment — what conduct is criminal and how the state may respond.

Scope

It covers the elements of crimes (actus reus and mens rea), defences, the principles and justification of punishment, and the limits of the criminal sanction.

Core questions

• What conduct should be criminal?
• What are the conditions of criminal responsibility?
• How is punishment justified?
• What are the proper limits of the criminal law?

Key concepts

• Actus reus and mens rea
• Criminal responsibility
• Deterrence and retribution
• Due process vs crime control
• Criminalization
• Defences

Key theories

Proportionate punishment

Beccaria argued punishment should be proportionate, certain, and aimed at deterrence, founding modern criminal-justice principles.

Punishment and responsibility

Hart analysed the justification of punishment and the conditions of criminal responsibility.

Limits of the criminal sanction

Packer framed the 'crime control' versus 'due process' models and the proper scope of criminalization.

History

Criminal-law theory runs from Beccaria's Enlightenment principles through analytical philosophy of punishment (Hart) and debates over the scope and models of criminal justice (Packer).

Debates

Retribution versus deterrence

Whether punishment is justified by desert or by its consequences (deterrence, incapacitation).

Key figures

• Cesare Beccaria
• H. L. A. Hart
• Herbert Packer

Seminal works

• beccaria-1764
• hart-1968
• packer-1968

Frequently asked questions

What are actus reus and mens rea?

The two basic elements of most crimes: the prohibited act (actus reus) and the guilty mental state (mens rea).