The Basis of Punishment. The State’s Right to Punish
The Basis of Punishment. The State’s Right to Punish

Author(s): Mariana Mitra-Niță
Subject(s): Criminology, Penology
Published by: Scientia Moralitas Research Institute
Keywords: punishment; rule of law; prevention; preservation; crime
Summary/Abstract: One of the three fundamental institutions of the criminal law is the sanction. It represents the right, and also the obligation of the state to intervene when a legal norm with a criminal character is violated. However, what is this right of the state to sanction? What is the origin of this right and what is its usefulness? These make up only a small part of the many questions that jurists and philosophers have raised throughout history, trying to objectively justify the basis of punishment. The reason for repression must consist not in the state’s desire for revenge, but in preventing in the future the commission of dangerous acts related to the most important social values, since, as Cesare Beccaria said, "it is more effective to prevent than to treat!" The need for punishment stems from the innate human instinct of conservation in order to preserve one's own species.

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