Synopses & Reviews
This book considers the proper nature and scope of criminal responsibility in the light of its institutional and political role. Tadros begins by providing an account of the foundations, both ethical and political, of criminal responsibility, and moves on to reconsider some of the central doctrines of criminal responsibility.
Part 1 examines the nature of criminal responsibility by employing a distinctive new conception of autonomy. Tadros explores the nature of autonomy, and asks what it means to respect autonomy. Building upon this consideration of autonomy, Tadros then explores the central conditions of responsibility. He provides the first systematic consideration of the relationship between criminal responsibility and liberal political theory, showing how the conditions of responsibility are articulated in, and restrained by, the institutional setting of the criminal law.
In Part 2, Tadros moves on to consider some of the central doctrines of criminal responsibility. He examines the proper nature and role of causation, intentions, and beliefs; asking whether these concepts should be understood as descriptive or normative. The book moves on to provide a systematic normative investigation of the nature and role of criminal omissions and criminal defenses. Included are: a thorough account of the different ways in which mental disorders might ground defenses, the nature of justification defenses, the different kinds of excuse claim and the role that particular characteristics of the accused might have on the standards which the defendant must have met to escape criminal responsibility.
Review
"It is a credit to Tadros that he has consistently managed to present his analysis of a complex subject in such a clear and well argued fashion. Each of his chapters is logically structured and ought to be accessible to anyone with a competent grasp of the key concepts of criminal law. His own character based theory on individual responsibility is undoubtedly original in its political and institutionalized context, and this work should prove to be a primary reference point in criminal law theory for many years to come.'"--British Journal of Criminology
Synopsis
This book provides a systematic, philosophically informed account of criminal responsibility. Part 1 of the book provides an innovative account of some of the underlying principles of criminal responsibility in the context of political theory, showing how the conditions of responsibility are articulated in, and restrained by, the institutional setting of the criminal law. Part 2 uses the insights developed in Part 1 to reconsider some of the central doctrines of criminal responsibility, examining issues including the nature of causation, intentions, and beliefs, and mental disorder defences, excuses, and justifications.
About the Author
Victor Tadros is Lecturer in Law at the University of Edinburgh.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part 1: The Nature of Criminal Responsibility
1. The Nature of Autonomy
2. Autonomy and Responsibility
3. The Character of Criminal Responsibility
4. Responsibility, Ethics and the Rule of Law
Part 2: Doctrines of the General Part
5. Causation in the Criminal Law: Ethical, Political and Natural
6. Autonomy and Responsibility in Criminal Omissions
7. The Role of Intentions in the Criminal Law
8. Knowledge and Belief: An Account in Law and Ethics
9. Reality and Appearance in Justification Defences
10: Mental Disorder Defences I: Beyond the Act
11: Mental Disorder Defences II: Disrupting the Act
12: Excuses 1: The Characters of Excuse
13: Excuses 2: Shifting Standards and Criminal Responsibility