Criminal law is a unique law that focuses on criminal offenses, charging, and apprehension of convicted offenders. Duff suggests that criminal law is “the censure or condemnation involving a conviction” (Mayson, 2020, p. 5). Thus, criminal law has adopted the feature of punishment to “express censure” (Mayson, 2020, p. 5). Duff further opines that criminal law is a “set of doctrines and practices” that function as collective condemnation (Mayson, 2020, p. 5). Criminal law seeks to promote ethical conduct and morality within society. Besides, it aims to change individual behavior to the point that they are acceptable by society. Therefore, criminal law is widely important within society to guide human interactions and relationships.
Criminal law is important to sustain the polity’s civil order (Mayson, 2020, p. 6). Criminal law contains a set of principles that seek to punish people engaging in wrongs. Criminal legal systems use criminal law to make members of the public accountable for their wrongs. Thus, it promotes justice within the community by punishing law offenders. Criminal law acts as a mechanism of collective condemnation (Mayson, 2020, p. 6). It ensures that individuals receive punishment for their wrongdoings. Criminal law is vital in the current society to curb vices like corruption, drug trafficking, and robbery. It ensures that individuals engaging in such acts are apprehended to correctional services for rehabilitation. However, criminal law bodies operate in different ways based on the conviction asserted by the community. For this, the mechanisms of criminal law worldwide are different, although they share a similar objective of promoting behavioral change in the community.
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Criminal law is used as a criterion for criminalizing actions within society. However, people have different perceptions about the justification of punishments in criminal law. Abolitionists have requested “foundational clarity” since they believe that criminal law is harsh (Mayson, 2020, p. 9). Nonetheless, a majority of people think that criminal law is much needed to transform individual behavior. Hence, the community continues to debate whether criminal law is essential and how best it can be designed to benefit society. All things constant, criminal law condemns criminal offenses; hence, promoting ethical conduct. Duff suggests that criminal law adheres to “negative legal moralism,” allowing it to criminalize any act considered wrongful conduct (Mayson, 2020, p. 10).
Duff opines that “things designated as crimes require collective condemnation” (Mayson, 2020, p. 10). Thus, criminal law focuses on the idea of “public wrong” to criminalize individuals. The community also plays a crucial role in identifying who the law speaks and whose name it speaks. This helps to classify different actions as criminal offenses; thus, promoting order and morality. Criminal law is also necessary for public judgment to punish law offenders. Criminal law helps to prove whether an individual is guilty or innocent; hence, it warrants punishment if a person is declared guilty. Michael Moore suggests that criminal law helps to attain “retributive justice” (Mayson, 2020, p. 11). This implies that offenders receive punishment for their wrongdoings to uphold justice. Moore further suggests that criminal law helps to “secure civil order” through deterrence (Mayson, 2020, p. 11). Criminal law contains principles that define the punishments offenders receive based on their wrongdoings.
Therefore, criminal law has multiple purposes that create change in various aspects of society, like human interactions and ethical conduct. Criminal law acts as a mechanism of collective condemnation; thus, punishing offenders based on their wrongdoings.
Reference
Mayson, S. G. (2020). The Concept of Criminal Law. Criminal Law and Philosophy , 1-18.
