This Article Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Matravers, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

‘Who’s Still Standing?’ A Comment on Antony Duff’s Preconditions of Criminal Liability

Department of Politics University of York York, UK, mdm3{at}york.ac.uk

Antony Duff has argued that an important precondition of criminal liability is that the state has the moral standing to call the offender to account. Conditions of severe social injustice, if allowed or perpetuated by the state, can undermine this standing. Duff’s argument appeals to the ordinary idea that a person’s own behaviour can sometimes negate his standing to call others to account. It is argued that this is an important issue, but that the analogy with individual standing is problematic. Moreover, Duff’s account of standing needs to address two interconnected issues: first, when and in what way the state can lose its standing to call offenders to account, and second, over what range of offences.

Key Words: criminal liability • Duff • punishment • social injustice

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?