Harm As Te Basis For Criminalising Conduct

Question 1

What is the aim around harm in criminal law

Answer 1

• aim to protect individuals from harm caused by others

Question 2

How does criminal law reflect the aims of harm

Answer 2

• prevents and protects by punishing conduct which has or will cause harm
• criminalises conduct which may allow V’s to hurt themselves

Question 3

What is the ‘harm principle’ and who was it by

Answer 3

• promotes criminalising conduct which causes harm
• created by John Stuart mill

Question 4

Which offences show evidence of the harm principle in common law

Answer 4

• murder, unlawful act manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter

Question 5

Which offenceds show evidence of the harm principle in statute

Answer 5

• assault, battery, offences from the AOPA 1861

Question 6

Which case shows the harm principle

Answer 6

• R v Brown and others - inflicted harm having consented, ‘paternalistic’ law which reflects the aim of V’s not hurting themselves

Question 7

How is the harm principle reflected in the aims of sentencing

Answer 7

• to protect the public, can award a whole life tariff where necessary - evidenced by the cases of Lucy letby

Question 8

What is ‘paternalism’

Answer 8

• the state is justified in protecting individuals from harm

Question 9

What is ‘legal moralism’

Answer 9

• immoral conduct is criminalised for better social cohesion

Question 10

Hoe does criminalising conduct link to morality

Answer 10

• in his book ‘the enforcement of morals’ Devlin argues a society’s shared morals hold it together, and so it is proper to criminalise immoral conduct for the sake of social preservation

Question 12

Outline Feinbergs contribution to harm as the basis for criminalising conduct

Answer 12

• developed the idea that behaviour which is offensive, but not harmful could be criminalised
• these concepts were explored in his book ‘the moral limits of criminal law’