Criminal Responsibility

Theory of Criminal Law

In this course, Professor Victor Tadros (University of Warwick) explores the theory of criminal law. In the first module, we critically examine three key theories of criminal responsibility. In the second module, we address the issue of deciding what we should criminalise, with special reference to harm and rights. In the third module we investigate the criminal trial, before turning to theories of punishment in the fourth module. In the fifth and final module, we look at the relationship between criminal law and social justice, and explore theories about how the criminal law should operate in an unjust society.

Criminal Responsibility

In this module, we discuss criminal responsibility, focusing in particular on (i) persons excluded from criminal responsibility (ii) choice theory of criminal responsibility (iii) capacity theory of criminal responsibility (iv) character theory of criminal responsibility (v) the requirement for a theory that explains the connection between a person and their actions in criminal liability.