This chapter discusses what crime is. No matter how universally its ideas and regulations are accepted, it is important to understand and not lose sight of the fact that crime is a social construct. Because crime is socially constructed, ideas of unacceptable and criminal behaviour alter across cultures and over time. Many suggest that what is known as the ‘harm principle’ might be the best standard by which we should decide whether an activity should be criminal. This principle holds that if conduct is not harmful to others it should not be criminal, even if others strongly dislike it. The chapter also looks at the concept of deviance and identifies: what kinds of activities are disapproved of (seen as deviant) and why; which of these are criminalised and why; what the criminal law may reveal about society and what matters to it.
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2. What is ‘crime’?
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4. Criminal Law Fabric
This chapter analyses the fabric of criminal law—rules, standards, and principles—giving examples of how each of these are used to construct the criminal law. A particular highlight, in the discussion of rules, is the importance of secondary legislation in creating offences, especially offences regulating business activity. The chapter also considers the values that the criminal law should respect, such as human rights, moral autonomy, and lifestyle autonomy. To that end, the chapter explains the harm principle, and the arguments for and against punishing ‘immoral’ behaviour. There is also an analysis of important principles of criminal offence construction and interpretation, such as the principle of strict construction and the authoritarian principle.
