Description
Book SynopsisUnderlying the research for the purposes of this book were one basic assumption: transposing legal articles to behavioral norms, suitable in given circumstances and capable of resolving a problem, in this case from the realm of criminal law is difficult. This difficulty pertains not only to citizens, who cannot avail themselves of professional tools of interpretation of legal texts, but also to practitioners and academics, arguing over the correct construction of a regulation. It may be that criminal law all its convoluted structure, overloaded with dogmatic principles will never be understandable for average citizens. Nonetheless, it seems to be worthwhile to seek a platform for understanding, and a model for reacting to a dynamically changing social reality with its core and less fluid values. The method of finding moral clarity in criminal law is the proconstitutional interpretation. The perception of a constitution, an observation which concerns mainly democratic states, as a sou
Trade ReviewConsidering that each criminal punishment comes with a deprivation of constitutional rights, Krzysztof Szczucki concludes that—in a constitutional system—criminal law is restricted to the protection of goods and values that are enshrined in the constitution itself, including the protection of the common good and human dignity. The idea that the extent of criminalization has to be predetermined by the constitution is highly relevant now that criminal law is often used merely as a political tool, sometimes even in an event-orientated legislative activism. The legal consequences, which Szczucki exemplifies in detail, are not only particularly interesting from the perspective of criminal law and legal philosophy, but deserve the highest attention by legal practitioners. -- Kurt Schmoller, University of Salzburg
Szczucki offers a fascinating argument for a "proconstitutional construction of criminal law": criminal law must aim to protect legal goods, and those goods are to be identified by attending to the polity's constitution, as an authoritative articulation of its defining values. His argument is grounded in Polish criminal law and theory, and offers Anglophone readers an illuminating perspective on that distinctive tradition of legal thought. But he also engages with central themes in Anglo-American theory, and shows how very fruitful such trans-jurisdictional conversation can be. -- Antony Duff, professor emeritus, University of Stirling
Proconstitutional Interpretation of Criminal Law is a timely and profound legal book, and it will attract readers in a variety of ways. It can, for instance, be read as a presentation of the current streams of legal thinking and penal legislation in Poland to the English-speaking audience; or as a contribution to current debates with respect to criminalization theories both in European and Anglo-American legal theory; or as a practical guide to constitutional review of draft or already enacted criminal offences in any given polity that contains review of laws by a supreme or a constitutional court within their legal system. In a sustained and richly textured argument, Dr. Szczucki makes a strong case for constitutions as crystallizations of the values of a society and that they should test the legitimacy of criminal laws by employing the principle of proportionality content, which is provided by competing constitutional fundamental rights and more concretely by legal goods. This meticulously written study on the legitimacy of criminal law norms is without doubt a significant contribution to the methodology of newly emerging rights-based constitutional analysis of criminal law in democratic societies. -- Ali Emrah Bozbayindir, Istanbul Zaim University
A constitution expresses the most fundamental, important, and enduring values of a democratic society. As such, shouldn’t constitutions be used as a primary basis for the interpretation of criminal statutes? That is the claim of Dr. Krzysztof Szczucki in his new book, Proconstitutional Interpretation of the Criminal Law. It is a provocative claim, and one that Dr. Szczucki defends admirably. Breaking down the artificial barriers between constitutional law and the interpretation of criminal statutes—while always remaining within the limits imposed by the literal terms of the particular criminal statute at issue, as well as by generally applicable background principles of criminal law—will, according to Dr. Szczucki, allow criminal law to serve better the goals expressed in the constitution. A “proconstitutional” approach also will make the criminal law more readily comprehensible to average people. This book makes an outstanding contribution to an important theoretical debate that is highly relevant not only in Poland but elsewhere around the world. The book should help legal scholars and legal practitioners alike in thinking about how best to align the criminal law with basic constitutional values. -- Joseph Hoffmann, Indiana University
Krzysztof Szczucki’s Proconstitutional Interpretation of Criminal Law is a profound analysis offering an impressive, amazing, and highly stimulating dialogue between criminal law and philosophy. His in-depth analysis focuses on the view of the legislator and integrates questions of morality, legitimacy, and legality. The author activates the category of “good” on the basis of human dignity as a criterion for rethinking key questions of contemporary criminal law. Hence it is designated for setting an indispensable benchmark in international comparative discussion. -- Otto Lagodny, University of Salzburg
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Models for Achieving Moral Clarity in Criminal Law Chapter 2: Goods Protected In Criminal Law Chapter 3: A Method of Reconstructing Goods and the Scope of their Criminal Protection in the Constitution Chapter 4: Common Good and Dignity of the Person as Criteria for Resolving Conflicts between Goods in Criminal Law Chapter 5: Constitutional Foundations of Construction of a Protected Good in Criminal Law Chapter 6: Obligations of a Legislator and Courts Stemming from the Proconstitutional Construction of Legal Goods Final Remarks Appendix: Case Law of the Polish Constitutional Court Bibliography About the Author
