Crime, Punishment and Equality

Equality before the law and the equal application of law are fundamental principles of justice in constitutional democracies. These principles are of considerable importance in the context of crime and punishment. The power to attribute criminal liability and impose punishment is an essential aspect of the operation of the state. In the institution of punishment, the liberal state conveys a distinct form of authority which is defined not by power or faith but by law. The attribution of criminal liability and imposition of punishment is characterized by its institutional, limited, uniform, and universal character. Everyone is subject to the might of the penal state and punishment’s legitimacy rests on the idea that all individuals could and should have refrained from committing criminal offences. At the same time, it is precisely this narrowness of focus on individual responsibility for an act or omission and the silencing of worries about other causes of, or reasons for, criminal behaviour (sociological, economic etc), that gives rises to concerns that to treat everyone equally might be to treat some people wrongly. Such concerns will be the focus of this course. It will also allow for consideration of the political dimension and the liberal assumption that the ideal state is a constitutional democracy which guarantees rights through law. Current political challenges to the political-legal order are of relevance here. When a US president can pardon his son or a tech billionaire close to Government feels able to brazenly assert that political decision making would best be served by replacing democratic government with a ‘republic of high-status males’, the importance of law and equality take on particular resonance. The series will comprise 8 lectures by experts on crime, punishment and equality Speakers) from law, philosophy, sociology and politics. The series can also be booked by students as a Wahlmodul (6 ECTS) in FS 2026; more details are available here.