Rules And Theory In Criminal Law Flashcards
What is paternalistic law
The view that some conduct should be criminalised in order to protect us from doing harm to ourselves
For example the supply of drugs such as heroin is illegal
What is legal moralism
It’s a theory that laws may be used to prohibit behaviour based on society’s judgement to whether it is moral or not
R v brown
What is autonomy of the individual
Individuals should be have freedom to do what they want and attempts to limit this should only be when necessary to limit harm
Who has limited autonomy
Under 18s
Those suffering from mental health disorders
What principles should be followed when a new criminal offence is drafted
Fair- labelling
Correspondence between AR and the MR
The elements are clean and give maximum certainty
Should not create retrospective liability
Fair- labelling
The offence must correctly describe the kind of crime that has been committed
The label must be fair
Correspondence
If AR and MR do not correspond the liability must not exceed the harm of the MR
Maximum certainty
Law should be as certain as possible. If it is not known what elements constitute to a crime then is not fair that a person can be convicted of the crime
R v misra
No retrospective liability
If the conduct is not an offence at the time it is done then it not fair to convict them of the offence