Book review
Review of: Ian Cummins. (2021) Welfare and punishment: from thatcherism to austerity. Bristol: Bristol University Press, pp. 172. Reviewed by: Peter Raynor, Swansea University and University of South Wales, UK
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Review of: Ian Cummins. (2021) Welfare and punishment: from thatcherism to austerity. Bristol: Bristol University Press, pp. 172. Reviewed by: Peter Raynor, Swansea University and University of South Wales, UK
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Review of: Domestic violence as state crime. A feminist framework for challenge and change. By Evelyn Rose. New York: Routledge, 2021. 216. ISBN: 9780367676896 Reviewed by: Ester Blay, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
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The rise of populism, as a by-product of neoliberal policies in Western democratic societies, became a hallmark feature of the supposed end-of-history era and post-cold-war order. Surprisingly, that shift was also evidenced in post-communist “new” democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. The field of criminal justice became one of the core areas of populist discourse. Penal populism indeed became a way to address concerns and fears that emerged in other realms. A Free-Market economy, immigration, the decline of the welfare state opened up huge social divisions and in the form of previously undreamt of levels of wealth for some, nothing but uncertainty and insecurity amidst poverty and crime fears for many more. Mass immigration from poorer regions challenged our cultural identity for both individuals and the nation state itself, which notion had been put at risk. Local contingencies also play an important role in this, of course. In some societies, versions of Christian values have joined populist forces in targeting women’s rights or those of the LGBT community. Penal populism has reshaped how it was possible to think about criminal justice. This includes the abandonment of previous restraints on imprisonment in both old and new democracies. Nevertheless, the liberal democratic model of criminal justice may also have two unlikely saviours of its own. One of these may be the COVID virus itself. The successful antidote to this involves trust in scientific knowledge. The successful antidote to COVID involves trust in scientific knowledge and expertise; high levels of trust in a strong central government, greater trust in public broadcasting organisations, and much stronger, social cohesion rather than the divisions that populism thrives on. The second unlikely saviour may be Vladimir Putin. With his war against the Ukraine state and its people, we also see what might be next in the route that populism is following: a form of autocracy; denial of free speech and all liberal values, killings of political opponents and the total defenseless and helplessness of individuals in front of the state apparatus of power.
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Resurgent populism – with crime as a core theme - is depicted as a dangerous perversion of liberal democracy. But by avoiding a definition of populism, critics tend to simply conflate populism with contemporary right-wing authoritarianism. Academic analysis, including criminological, is not free of such tendencies. After a brief consideration of criminology’s engagement with penal populism and the recent spread of a more far-reaching authoritarian political populism, the article argues for the need to more carefully conceptualise populism. Theoretical clarity is needed for assessing the character of contemporary populism; for grasping its drivers in, for example, neo-liberal globalization and what Crouch calls “post democracy”; and for discerning its possible future trajectories, progressive as well as regressive. It is also argued that simple denunciations of populism often reflect a complacent liberal mentality that contributes to political disaffection fuelling populist movements, and overlooks legitimate grievances, including the (often criminal) failings of liberal institutions. Rather than being a political aberration, populism, it is argued, should be seen as a “normal” dimension of democratic politics with implications for criminal policy (as well as politics at large).
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Arguments referring to natural law, (public) morality, religion or Christian values are regularly put forward in debates on existing or planned criminal law provisions that will criminalize specific behavior. A prohibition on behavior contrary to the scriptures or the teaching of the Church on pain of criminal penalty encompasses not only abortion, but also euthanasia, (paid) surrogate motherhood, paid donation of organs for transplantation, sterilization, contraception, prostitution and bigamy. The arguments presented for the protection of Christian values are often linked with the protection of human dignity. This article seeks to address the issue of whether such a “pre-legislative” measure (reliance on the protection of Christian values) is a form of penal populism. Parliamentary and non-parliamentary discussions conducted during work on specific provisions of the Criminal Code formed the basis for analysis, with particular emphasis placed on arguments in favor of criminalization of the behaviors mentioned above. The findings were challenged against the concept of legal interest in criminal law, and the concept of human dignity in the Polish legal system (and its place in repressive law). The identified “religious values” and the need to protect them were subjected to analysis conducted against this background, underpinned by the constitutional principle of proportionality of the limitation of human rights and freedoms. The operational tools were not only established definitions of populism, including penal populism, and Weber’s ideal type, i.e. a set of empirically perceived properties of populist style and perspective, sometimes called “the populist syndrome.” The ultimate objective of this article was to establish whether the cases under analysis involve religious populism or a rational decision on criminalization.
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Since almost the very beginning of the 21st century, the prevalent criminal policy in Poland has been punitive, seeking to solve almost all problems related to crime by means of one solution, i.e. more severe penalties. At the same time, for more than 20 years political power has been wielded by conservative parties. It will come as no surprise that neoclassical criminology, with its retributive approach to punishment and repeated invocation of a social sense of justice, appeals most to a conservative government. Neoclassical criminology is also a good starting point for creating a penal offer typical of penal populism. In this article we analyse the latest changes in law related to the amendment of the Penal Code in June 2019. Although the amendment did not enter into force, it triggered operations aimed at tightening criminal law, with some of the changes proposed in the amendment adopted with the introduction of anti-crisis acts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Drawing upon the “sociology of vindictiveness” (Young 2003; 2007) and Sumner’s (1990; 1994) work on censure the authors examine the construal, responses and treatment of individuals who have committed a sexual offence against a child/children (ICSOAC). We seek to understand the dynamics and social processes of the exclusion of others and the way negative, sectional and bureaucratised discourses, policies and practices can “other” marginalised groups, for political expediency. We argue that to fully understand these responses we need to better understand the wider social dynamics and constructions which inform and shape societal perceptions in pursuit of an essentialised “good enemy”. In line with this, we go on to outline the interaction between vindictiveness and populism in the administration of justice and situate the challenges this poses for both punishment and the rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals convicted of sexual crime.
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The Romanian prison system faces several systemic problems such as overcrowding, inadequate conditions of detention, a shortage of staff, especially medical and holding unit guards, and the high frequency of deaths. In many cases, prisoners have complained about infringement of their rights to the European Court of Human Rights, which has repeatedly ordered the Romanian State to pay them compensation. Compensation was significant, and the amounts paid by the Romanian state in the period 2013–2017 total around 5 million euros. Given that the implementation of substantial reforms to help improve detention conditions kept being postponed, in 2017 the ECHR issued a pilot decision (Rezmiveş et al. vs. Romania) suspending prosecution of approximately 8,000 outstanding cases concerning detention conditions, calling on the state to take measures to reduce overcrowding and improve detention conditions. In this respect, a period of six months was granted, during which the Romanian government was to present a plan for the implementation of measures aimed at achieving these objectives. In the short term, the Ministry of Justice and the National Administration of Penitentiaries introduced a compensatory measure which consisted of reducing the total sentence by 6 days for each 30 days executed under improper conditions, the aim being to speed up the process of releasing of prisoners and, therefore, to reduce overcrowding. The law by which the compensatory measure was introduced became the subject of heated debates in Romanian society, with print and online media campaigns being triggered, where this measure was presented as one that “keeps offenders out of prison”, often highlighting cases of former prisoners who had benefited from the provisions of this law and then reoffended. Nevertheless, the non-existent post-detention support given to former prisoners by the Romanian State needs to be taken into consideration. The reaction of the political class was to repeal the normative act, without any alternative measures being implemented. The article aims to carry out an analysis of the realism of these measures, of the context that caused these measures to be taken, and of the debates that existed in society and among the political class, underlining the specific elements of penal populism. The impact of these measures on the prison system will also be analysed.
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Chilean youth justice went through a drastic reform process during the 2000s, it was the second radical youth justice reform movement in the country since the creation of the Law of Minors in 1928. The decision to reform took place as Chile transitioned and stabilized into democracy after the authoritarian regime of the 1970s and 1980s. Superficially, it seems this is just one more way of embracing democracy and Human Rights. However, after in depth documental analysis of both the reform and the socio-political context, this paper offers a different insight and an explanation for the sudden relevance of youth justice, as a tool used by authoritarian political elites that then filtered into the political elite of the new democracy. In this context, populism played a key role in spreading concerns about youth offending and the need for a new youth justice which worked to strengthen the legitimacy of authoritarian practices in the new Chilean democratic order. It was an elite-driven populism that transformed youth justice into a key social and political concern.
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Contemporary discussions on the role of populism in criminal justice reform have centred around its potential for more punitive outcomes i.e., longer sentences, less hospitable prison conditions and a lack of meaningful support for integration back into the community. Reflecting on this legislative trend, Julian V. Roberts et al. (2002) opined that a change of posture might be required by proponents of penal reform, going on the offensive and pointing to the negative actions taken by politicians in the name of penal populism. This paper asks whether politicians advocating for less punitive criminal justice reforms in New Zealand could themselves draw from a more populist style of politics. We hypothesise that research participant support for a free-market populist-style argument on decarceration will be higher than for a status quo-style argument. This is examined through a quantitative approach involving the development of an experimental tool that distils the theoretical conceptualisations of populism and tests them on the New Zealand voting-age public. We find through sub-group analysis that a statistically significant number of participants who self-identified as “right” on the political spectrum or voted for either the National party (a major centre-right political party) or the New Zealand First party (a minor conservative political party) in the 2017 New Zealand general election were more inclined to support arguments for less punitive sentences when pitched using a populist-style argument.
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The contemporary rise of populism across much of Western society – especially the Anglosphere countries that are the main focus of this article – has threatened many of the protections and freedoms provided by the post-1945 commitment to a democratic political order: guarantees of human rights, adherence to the rule of law, and a media that is free to criticise governments and hold them to account. Populism has also come to be associated with a very different penal programme from that which, for several decades after 1945, characterised a given society’s commitment to democracy. That pattern of justice – largely based on reason, liberalism, and expert knowledge – was significant beyond its operational boundaries. It symbolised the Western democratic order, standing out as a beacon of humanity against totalitarianism. The rise of populism, however, has helped to fashion a very different penal programme, associated with historic rises in imprisonment levels and the immobilisation of those who pose risks to public well-being – even if, in so doing, the foundations of criminal justice in the democratic world are undermined by the strategies employed. It might thus be supposed that governmental reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic pose a further threat to democracy and its criminal justice processes. Additional forms of immobilisation have been introduced to combat the spread of the virus: restrictions on freedom of movement in public spaces or stay-at-home orders equivalent to house arrest – controls which now cover entire nations rather than just individuals at risk of committing particular crimes. As such, this kind of ‘rule by decree’ might seem to be a blueprint for would-be autocrats wishing to subvert democratic processes and forms of accountability altogether. However, the article also argues that the pandemic provides very different possibilities of governance to populist authoritarianism. Indeed, the virus acts as an antidote to populism. COVID-19 has laughed in the face of populist demagogues. It shows them to be nothing more than incompetent, though usually malevolent, charlatans with some of the world’s highest infection and fatality rates in their societies. Instead of their empty populist blustering, the pandemic can only be eliminated by science and expert knowledge, acting in conjunction with a strong but accountable central government amidst forms of immobilisation to which the general public have largely acquiesced – strengthening rather than weakening social cohesion in the process in many instances. As the virus has eaten into the support for populism, the dangers which the latter posed to democratic order have also been pushed back. Previous pandemics have been followed by dramatic social and economic changes. Such changes post-COVID-19 may now sever the links between populism and penal development, allowing for a different and more restricted penal framework.
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To present the purpose and the actual role of the prohibition of corporal punishment against minors in society, the sources, causes and effects of introducing this normative prohibition are analysed, based on the example of the Polish legal system. The sources that sought to adopt the amendment in question are indicated, as well as the entities influencing the enactment of the prohibition in its final version. The situation of entities that will reap benefits from the ban in question and those to suffer losses is also described. The analysis of formal and informal rules relating to the upbringing methods used in the society is aimed at answering the question of whether the prohibition of corporal punishment against minors achieved the goal intended by the legislator or even caused the opposite effect.
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Modern forensics is a science that has been dynamically developing in recent years, which is related both to the general development of science and technology and to the needs of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. The main feature of forensics is its interdisciplinarity. All the facts presented cause that the identity of modern forensics is changing. It is, in a way, a natural process. However, it poses a great danger of disintegrating this science. The article presents a discussion on the constantly changing paradigm of forensics, its goals and tasks. Such important theoretical issues have a large impact on forensic practice, primarily on expert opinions, teaching forensics and knowledge of forensics by lawyers.
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The article presents a criminological and forensic analysis of selected forms of contemporary organized crime in Poland, with particular emphasis on criminal terror, human trafficking, car crime, money laundering and cross-border crime. The study indicates the most important methods used by offenders in the analyzed areas from the perspective of criminology and forensics. The article aims at presenting the phenomenology (also known as symptomatology) of organized crime, including the dynamics and structure of crime in general, the methods of committing particular crimes and some elements of how the criminal world is organized. The author also points to the etiology of the characterized criminal activities. Among others, the reports on the activities of the Central Police Investigation Bureau have been used during the research. As a result of the analysis, several remarks have been formulated. First of all, the character of the presented forms of organized crime in Poland changes with time. Secondly, groups that demonstrate strictly criminal activities are still present in the public space. Thirdly, crime becomes more interdisciplinary and the criminal groups enter new areas of criminal activities. The article may form a contribution to further research in this area, including especially the development of effective mechanisms for the prevention of organized crime.
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The aim of this study is to analyse selected theories of crime of an integrated nature (biosocial), functioning in criminology, from the perspective of explaining the conditions of the phenomenon of female crime. It was pointed out that single-factor theories older than integrated theories (anthropological, biological, sociological, psychological), assuming in their assumptions only one category of variables, occurring in the analysis of the course of female criminal activities, did not contribute sufficiently to the explication of the studied, negative phenomenon, giving the inducement to search and develop a different category of theory. Therefore, the article attempts to determine whether the integrated (multi-factorial) theories, presented on the example of the considerations of two criminologists: A. Walsh and D.W. Denno, taking into account the findings of the former single-factor concepts, allow to find a comprehensive solution to the doubts, concentrating around the issue of conditions and specificity of the development of the phenomenon of female crime, which for several decades has occupied the activity of criminologists in Poland and worldwide.
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The aim of the article is to analyze the phenomenon of “patient’s autonomy” as an object of criminal law protection. The article is divided into two parts. In this part, attention is focused on discussing possible grounds for criminal liability in case of violation of patient’s autonomy. It should be stressed that, of course, only some of the behaviors violating the legal good of patient’s autonomy is regulated by criminal law and may therefore result in criminal liability. The authors analyze offences whose commission by medical personnel may violate patient’s autonomy. In addition, they present statistics on the number of medical crimes for 2019.
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The subject of the commentary are issues related to the crime of persistent harassment (Article 190a § 1 of the Criminal Code), in particular, its subjective side. The essential issue referred to by the Supreme Court in the justification of the judgement were the motives of the perpetrator of persistent harassment. The Supreme Court held that the elements of the act from § 1 of Article 190a of the Criminal Code do not include the purpose of the perpetrator’s action, i.e. the fact that the subjective side of this type of crime is not directional. The motivation of the perpetrator is irrelevant from the point of view of the elements of this act, its perpetrator may act for different purposes. Since the harassment must be persistent and must lead to a specific result, the perpetrator should include these elements of the factual elements both in his/her consciousness and will. The realization of an aim, which in itself does not deserve a negative assessment, by means that could be considered as persistent harassment of another person, and that could lead a person to a sense of threat, humiliation or anguish, or violating the privacy, may fulfil the elements of the crime of Article 190a of the Criminal Code. The author referred to the problem of intention and motivation of the perpetrator of persistent harassment, sharing the view formulated by the Supreme Court in both theses of the judgement.
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En règle générale, les mesures conservatoires sont facultatives et le processus pour les prendre passe par trois étapes : identifier l’un des objectifs prévus par la loi, effectuer un test de nécessité et effectuer un test de proportionnalité. Par exception, en cas d’infraction d’évasion fiscale, les mesures conservatoires sont obligatoires. La démarche de prise de mesures conservatoires en matière d’infractions de fraude fiscale ne passe que par deux étapes: l’identification d’une des finalités prévues par la loi et la réalisation d’un test de proportionnalité. Dans ce cas, la nécessité de mesures conservatoires est présumée par la loi. Au stade de l’identification de la finalité prévue par la loi, l’ examen effectué par l’organe judiciare est superficiel. Îl n’enquête pas (qu’ en apparence) sur les éléments essentiels de la relation juridique pénale du conflict ( l’existence de l’infraction et sa commission par le prévenu) et n’analyse que la perspective de réaliser l’objectif prévu par la loi. Tout au long de la procédure pénale, l’organe judiciare vérifie și la finalité, la nécessité et la proportionnalité de la mesure conservatoire subsistent ou non. S’il est constaté que le but ou la nécessité n’existe plus, la mesure conservatoire est levée. S’il s’avère que le but et la nécessité existent toujours, la mesure conservatoire doit être maintenue, étendue ou limitée. La distinction entre maintien, extension et restriction est faite dans le domiane des teste de proportionnalité. Dans le cas des délits de fraude fiscale, la nécessité n’est pas vérifiée. Elle est présumée par la loi tout au long de la procédure pénale. La mésure conservatoire prise pour réparer le dommage causé par la commission de l’infraction est liée non pas autant à l’existence d’une constitution en tant que partie civile au procès pénal, mais plutôt à l’existence d’un dommage non récupéré. Cela explique pourquoi une telle mesure conservatoire ayant une telle finalité puisse être prise même en absence de constitution de partie civile dans la procédure pénale, dans deux situations: lorsque la mesure conservatoire est prise avant que la partie lésée ne se constitue pas partie civile et lorsque le dommage est récupéré par un mécanisme autre que l’admission de l’action civile exercée dans le cadre de la procédure pénale (c’est -à -dire la conclusion entre l’inculpé et la persoane lesée d’un acte d’échelonnement du paiement du dommage ). Si le dommage causé par l’infraction n’est pas réparé, la mésure conservatoire peut être limitée à un double objectif: réparation du dommage ou prise de la mesure de sécurité de confiscation spéciale. S’il existe une chance de réparation du dommage, la mesure conservatoire est limitée à l’objectif de réparer le dommage .S’il n’y a aucune chance de recouvrement, la mesure conservatoire se limite à prendre la mesure spéciale de sécurité de confiscation. Îl n’est pas nécessaire que la mesure conservatoire soit prise aux fins de prendre la mesure spéciale de sûreté de confiscation, mais il suffit qu’elle soit prise aux fins de réparaton du préjudice, și la réparation du préjudice découle de l’acte de sursis d’échelonnement du paiement du préjudice entre l’accusé et la partie lesée. La mesure conservatoire prise pour assurer l’exécution de l’amende doit subsister, même si, en première instance, une solution d’acquittement a été prononcée à l’encontre de l’ accusé, personne juridique, autant que cette solution est contestée dans l’appel déclaré par le procureur et autant qu’il y a une perspective à remplacer par une convinction. La mesure conservatoire prise pour assurer l’exécution des frais de justice doit subsister, même s’ils sont en petit montant. Le caractère réduit du montant des frais de justice permet la levée de la mesure conservatoire, mais sa restriction. Le default de l'organe judiciaire de vérifier la mesure conservatoire à temps a pour conséquence sa résiliation légale.
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Between the various branches of law, criminal law and criminal procedural law were among the last to be influenced by supranational law of European origin. However, almost all criminal regulations today seek to be in line with the European perspective. A thorough knowledge of the rights and guarantees underlying European criminal law is therefore essential for the national judge who is called upon daily to apply the rules of his own code of criminal procedure in a manner consistent with European principles, as interpreted by the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice.
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Il y a des oeuvres littéraires appartenant à la litterature pour les enfants qui sont recommandées à un très jeune âge et qui contiennent des faits criminels. Cet article met en évidence les effets négatifs de ces types de textes et signale la necessité de limiter/censurer les actes répréhensibles conformément aux reglémentations en vigueur en France en tenant compte de leur impact négatif du point de vue émotionnel ou des faits.
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