The types of the contemporary justifications of punishment Cover Image

Współczesne koncepcje uzasadnienia karania (zarys typologii)
The types of the contemporary justifications of punishment

Author(s): Michał Peno
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
Keywords: punishment; criminal responsibility; justifications of punishment; justifications of criminal liability; types; philosophy of criminal law

Summary/Abstract: It may be safety assumed that punishment is a problem. In this paper I try to examine the competing conceptions of punishment in contemporary legal philosophy. I consider some aspects of the controversy between the utilitarian justification of punishment and the doctrine of retributive punishment. I also try to elucidate the so called “mixed theory” of punishment. I assume that the problem of justification of punishment may be properly analyzed only if we distinguish two basic types of justifications: “positive” (i.e. legal scholars whose energies are devoted to justifying the practice of punishment) and “negative” (i.e. the radical critics of the whole practices of punishment). In this context I refer to an alternative concept of criminal law (for instance: “penal minimalism”, “abolitionism”, “restorative justice”, and so on). Last but not least, I try to explore the alternative concept of criminal law and its impact on the reality of law and society.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 05 (1)
  • Page Range: 129-153
  • Page Count: 25
  • Language: Polish