Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Theories in Crim Law

    Uploaded by

    Ysmael
    74 views1 page
    The document discusses different theories of criminal law: [1] The classical or juristic theory views crime as a violation of law and focuses on punishment proportionate to the offense. [2] The positivist theory sees crime as a social phenomenon and views the criminal as someone needing treatment rather than punishment. It is more reformative and preventive. [3] Relative theories of punishment include prevention, public self-defense, reformation, deterrence, and exemplarity. [4] The absolute theory views punishment as an act of retributive justice, with reformation and example being incidental.

    Original Description:

    theories

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    The document discusses different theories of criminal law: [1] The classical or juristic theory views crime as a violation of law and focuses on punishment proportionate to the offense. [2] The positivist theory sees crime as a social phenomenon and views the criminal as someone needing treatment rather than punishment. It is more reformative and preventive. [3] Relative theories of punishment include prevention, public self-defense, reformation, deterrence, and exemplarity. [4] The absolute theory views punishment as an act of retributive justice, with reformation and example being incidental.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    74 views1 page

    Theories in Crim Law

    Uploaded by

    Ysmael
    The document discusses different theories of criminal law: [1] The classical or juristic theory views crime as a violation of law and focuses on punishment proportionate to the offense. [2] The positivist theory sees crime as a social phenomenon and views the criminal as someone needing treatment rather than punishment. It is more reformative and preventive. [3] Relative theories of punishment include prevention, public self-defense, reformation, deterrence, and exemplarity. [4] The absolute theory views punishment as an act of retributive justice, with reformation and example being incidental.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 1

    Theories in Criminal Law

    A. Classical

    As the Revised Penal Code was based on the Spanish Penal Code of 1870, which in turn traces its descent
    from the French Penal Code of 1810, it belongs to the classical or juristic school of criminal law as
    distinguished from the positivist or realistic school. The classic penal system lays stress on the crime. It is
    primarily retributive and punitive. It assumes that every criminal has free will and knows the penal law.
    Punishment is standardized and proportioned to the gravity or nature of the offense. The basic postulate of the
    classic penal system is that men are rational and calculating beings who guide their actions with reference to
    the principles of pleasure and pain. Thus, they will refrain from criminal acts if threatened with punishment
    sufficient to cancel the hope of possible gain or advantage. Becarria, the leading exponent of classical
    penology during the eighteenth century, said that in every criminal cause the judge should reason
    syllogistically. The major should be the general law; the minor, the conformity of the action, or its opposition to
    the law, the conclusion, liberty or punishment.

    B. Positivist

    On the other hand, the positivist school (Scuola Positiva) views crime as a social phenomenon and attaches
    much importance to the criminal or the actor. Positivist criminology is reformative and preventive and
    individualizes punishment. As Beagle notes, a new and epoch-making idea has been broached which is simply
    that the criminal is only a sick man who needs not be punished but cured. The victim of heredity and
    environment, he is more sinned against than sinning. The whole concept of moral guilt upon which classical
    penology rests is an ironic irrelevancy. For the concept of guilt must be substituted by that of social
    dangerousness. The incurable must be treated, and the prison is to constitute a criminological hospital. This
    is the whole sum and substance of what is called positivist criminology, which, like classical penology, was
    born in Italy, where its foundations were laid by Cesare Lombroso, Enrico Ferri and Rafaelle Garofalo. Italy, for
    some mystic reason, seems destined to be the matric of every new system of penology.

    C. Relative

    The relative theories of punishment are: (1) prevention, or to prevent the offender from further offending
    (punitur ne peccetur, as in capital punishment); (2) public self-defense or the right of the State to repel an
    attack threatening its existence; (3) reformation; (4) deterrence or to terrify others; and (5) exemplarity; penal
    justice is law teaching by example.

    D. Absolute

    The absolute theory is that punishment is an act of retributive justice to which reformation and example are
    incidental. Hegel says that punishment is the negation of a negation, or an effort to annihilate wrong in its effort
    to annihilate right.

    You might also like