Principles of Criminal Law

by Ashworth, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9780198765578
• ISBN10: 0198765576
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-12-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This stimulating and authoritative text addresses the underlying principles and rationales of criminal law, bringing the subject to life through a critically engaging and contextual approach. The fifth edition incorporates detailed discussion of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and explores current controversies such as the shape of the law of murder, including discussion the Law Commission's 2005 proposals. Andrew Ashworth's book remains essential reading for students seeking an in-depth and sophisticated exploration of criminal law that makes the theoretical background clear and accessible. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Andrew Ashworth is Vinerian Professor of English Law at All Souls College, Oxford.

Table of Contents

Table of Cases	x
Table of Conventions	xxv
Table of Legislation	xxvi
Criminal Justice and the Criminal Law	1	(22)
The Contours of Criminal Liability	2	(2)
The Machinery of English Criminal Law	4	(1)
The Sources of English Criminal Law	5	(2)
The Criminal Law in Action	7	(9)
Outline of the Aims and Functions of the Criminal Law	16	(2)
The Criminal Law and Sentencing	18	(5)
Criminalization	23	(36)
The Politics of Lawmaking	24	(3)
The Principle of Individual Autonomy	27	(3)
The Principle of Welfare	30	(2)
Harm and Minimalism	32	(5)
Assessing the Seriousness of Offences	37	(5)
Morally Wrong Behaviour	42	(5)
Criminalizing Omissions	47	(3)
Minor Harms	50	(2)
Remote Harms	52	(2)
Victimless Crime	54	(2)
Conclusions	56	(3)
Principles and Policies	59	(39)
Rules and Principles	59	(1)
Constitutionality and Codification	60	(2)
Human Rights and Criminal Law	62	(4)
The Range of the Criminal Law	66	(4)
The Rule of Law and Fair Procedures	70	(17)
Principles Relating to the Conditions of Liability	87	(8)
Conclusions	95	(3)
Criminal Conduct	98	(61)
The General Part of the Criminal Law	98	(3)
Involuntary Conduct	101	(7)
Acts, States of Affairs, and Possession	108	(4)
Omissions	112	(4)
Personality	116	(8)
Causation	124	(13)
Justifiable Conduct	137	(14)
Chastisement of Children	151	(1)
Justifications, Necessity, and Choice of Evils	152	(4)
Conclusions	156	(3)
Positive Fault Requirements	159	(50)
The Issues	159	(1)
Some General Principles	160	(6)
Varieties of Fault	166	(36)
The Variety of Fault Terms	202	(1)
The Referential Point of Fault	203	(6)
Negative Fault Requirements	209	(54)
Grounds of Excuse	209	(1)
Agency, Capacity, and Mental Disorder	210	(7)
Intoxication	217	(9)
Duress and Necessity	226	(10)
Provocation	236	(4)
Reasonable Mistake and Putative Defences	240	(3)
Ignorance or Mistake of Law	243	(5)
Entrapment	248	(2)
Fault and the Excuses	250	(13)
Homicide	263	(55)
Death and Finality	263	(1)
Requirements of Criminal Homicide	264	(1)
Defining Murder: the Inclusionary Question	265	(9)
Defining Murder: the Exclusionary Question	274	(25)
`Involuntary Manslaughter'	299	(10)
Endangerment on the Roads	309	(4)
Endangerment in Other Situations	313	(5)
Non-Fatal Violations of the Person	318	(55)
Varieties of Physical Violation	318	(1)
Reported Physical Violations	319	(1)
Offences of Non-Fatal Physical Violation	320	(27)
Reported Sexual Assaults	347	(4)
Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse	351	(9)
Other Non-Consensual Sexual Offences	360	(6)
Incest	366	(2)
Parameters of the Law on Sexual Assault	368	(5)
Offences of Dishonesty	373	(52)
Introduction	373	(3)
The Offence of Theft	376	(22)
Taking a Conveyance without Consent	398	(3)
Robbery	401	(2)
Blackmail	403	(2)
Burglary	405	(4)
Handling Stolen Goods	409	(1)
Deception Offences	410	(7)
Fraud Offences	417	(3)
Dishonesty, Discretion, and `Desert'	420	(5)
Complicity	425	(35)
Introduction	425	(1)
Distinguishing Principals from Accessories	426	(3)
The Conduct Element in Complicity	429	(9)
The Fault Element in Complicity	438	(5)
Accessorial Liability for Different Results	443	(6)
Derivative Liability and the Missing Link	449	(4)
Special Defences to Complicity	453	(3)
Conclusions	456	(4)
Inchoate Offences	460	(31)
The Concept of an Inchoate Offence	460	(1)
The Justifications for Penalizing Attempts at Crimes	460	(3)
The Elements of Criminal Attempt	463	(8)
The Justifications for an Offence of Conspiracy	471	(5)
The Elements of Criminal Conspiracy	476	(4)
Incitement	480	(2)
Voluntary Renunciation of Criminal Purpose	482	(2)
The Relationship between Susbstantive and Inchoate Crimes	484	(3)
The Place of Inchoate Liability	487	(4)
Selected Bibliography	491	(20)
Index	511