Concentrating upon those doctrines that make up the general part of the criminal law this collection of essays by leading American and British legal experts sheds theoretical light on key issues of contemporary relevance.

This is the first volume of an authoritative three-volume treatise on international criminal law. The text provides comprehensive treatment of issues relevant to the foundations, general part of international criminal law, and general principles of international criminal justice.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this book provides a practical analysis of criminal law in Poland. An introduction presents the necessary background information about the framework and sources of the criminal justice system, and then proceeds to a detailed examination of the grounds for criminal liability, the justification of criminal offences, the defences that diminish or excuse criminal liability, the classification of criminal offences, and the sanctions system. Coverage of criminal procedure focuses on the organization of investigations, pre-trial proceedings, trial stage, and legal remedies. A final part describes the execution of sentences and orders, the prison system, and the extinction of custodial sanctions or sentences. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable resource for criminal lawyers, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and criminal court judges handling cases connected with Poland. Academics and researchers, as well as the various international organizations in the field, will welcome this very useful guide, and will appreciate its value in the study of comparative criminal law.

This collection of original essays, by some of the best known contemporary criminal law theorists, tackles a range of issues about the criminal law's 'special part' - the part of the criminal law that defines specific offences. One of its aims is to show the importance, for theory as well as for practice, of focusing on the special part as well as on the general part which usually receives much more theoretical attention. Some of the issues covered concern the proper scope of the criminal law, for example how far should it include offences of possession, or endangerment? If it should punish only wrongful conduct, how can it justly include so-called 'mala prohibita', which are often said to involve conduct that is not wrongful prior to its legal prohibition? Other issues concern the ways in which crimes should be classified. Can we make plausible sense, for instance, of the orthodox distinction between crimes of basic and general intent? Should domestic violence be definedas a distinct offence, distinguished from other kinds of personal violence? Also examined are the ways in which specific offences should be defined, to what extent those definitions should identify distinctive types of wrongs, and the light that such definitional questions throw on the grounds and structures of criminal liability. Such issues are discussed in relation not only to such crimes as murder, rape, theft and other property offences, but also in relation to offences such as bribery, endangerment and possession that have not traditionally been subjects for in depth theoretical analysis.

This accessible text enables criminology and criminal justice students to understand and critically evaluate criminal law in the context of criminal justice and wider social issues. The book explains criminal law comprehensively, covering both general principles and specific types of criminal offences. It examines criminal law in its social context, as well as considering how it is used by the criminal justice processes and agencies which enforce it in practice. Covering all the different theoretical approaches that the student of criminology and criminal justice will need to understand, the book provides learning tools such as: -chapter objectives - making the structure of the book easy to follow for students -questions for discussion and student exercises - helping students to think critically about the ideas and concepts in each chapter, and to undertake further independent and reflective study -′definition boxes′ explaining key concepts - helping students who are not familiar with specialist criminal law terminology to understand what the key basic concepts in criminal law really mean in practice -a companion Website which incorporates a range of resources for lecturers and students.