Behavior Responsibility Criminal Law

Author: Gunther Jakobs
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1997-10-01
Features: This book is a translation of four essays written by Professor Gunther Jakobs, Director of the Institute for Legal Philosophy at the University of Bonn (Bonn), Germany. In the first essay —— "Responsibility and Prevention," Professor Jakobs argues that the content of responsibility is purposefully determined, and the purpose of punishment is not negative general prevention in the sense of deterrence, but rather positive general prevention in the sense of fostering citizens' loyalty to norms. In the second essay —— "On the Treatment of Will Defects and Cognitive Defects," Professor Jakobs proposes that attribution should be determined based on the roles (Rolle) individuals assume. Attribution involves making value judgments about a person based on the roles they hold, and it is only in societies where roles frequently shift that individual uniqueness needs to be considered for attribution. In the third essay —— "The Concept of Act in Criminal Law," Professor Jakobs argues that criminal acts are not natural phenomena but rather significant expressions in social interaction. In the fourth essay —— "Criminal Law Between Functionalism and the Principles of 'Classical Europe'," Professor Jakobs proposes that the function of criminal law is to ensure the identity of norms, meaning that norms must be able to prove their authenticity within society.