| Description |
1 online resource (417 p.) |
| Series |
Oxford Monographs on Criminal Law and Justice |
|
Oxford monographs on criminal law and criminal justice.
|
| Contents |
Cover -- Half-Title -- Series page -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Preface -- Contents -- Table of Cases -- Table of Legislation -- List of Abbreviations -- List of Contributors -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The Insanity Defence in English Law -- 3. Reforming the Insanity Defence in England and Wales -- 4. The Mental Disorder Defence in Scots Law -- 5. The Insanity Defence in Irish Law -- 6. The Mental Disorder Defence: Canadian Law and Practice -- 7. The Insanity Defence: Conflict and Reform in New Zealand -- 8. The Insanity Defence under Australian Law -- 9. Before and After Hinckley: Legal Insanity in the United States -- 10. The Insanity Defence in French Law: Are Prisons the 'New Asylums'? -- 11. Insanity in German Criminal Law -- 12. Legal Insanity in the Netherlands: Regulations and Reflections -- 13. Criminal Insanity in Norwegian Law -- 14. The Insanity Defence in China -- 15. The Insanity Defence under International Criminal Law -- 16. Conclusion -- Index |
| Summary |
The Insanity Defence provides an essential comparative perspective on the theory and practice of the insanity defence in both common law and civil law jurisdictions. It is a companion volume to Fitness to Plead (OUP 2018) by the same editors and is written and edited by a team of leading experts in the field |
|
Insanity is a defence with a lengthy history in the common law of England. But it has also been the subject of much debate, and ultimately law reform, in many other jurisdictions. Typically, the defence, as exemplified in the M'Naghten Rules, represents a foundational aspect of criminal responsibility, although in some jurisdictions it serves only to define degrees of mental capacity. But what all jurisdictions have in common is the high and increasing incidence of mental illness and impairment challenging existing constructions of an exculpatory rule. Acknowledging this fact, this book brings together a number of experts from a range of jurisdictions to provide fresh perspectives on the insanity defence. While the origins and operation of the M'Naghten Rules are explored in detail in several chapters, other chapters highlight the eclectic nature of the defence, its highly variable linguistic expression, and the diverse social policy mandates it seeks to embrace. Such policies may move, in different jurisdictions, between excluding criminal liability because of lack of capacity and reduced culpability because of impaired capacity so that insanity becomes primarily a sentencing issue. In other jurisdictions, while substantive insanity rules may bear many similarities to other jurisdictions, more demanding evidential and procedural requirements may significantly limit the scope of the exculpatory rule. The highly contested question of the appropriate disposition of offenders found legally insane arises both in international and domestic law and is also addressed in several chapters in the book. In some jurisdictional settings, notably in the context of international criminal law, a mixing of the separate constructs of trial capacity (unfitness to stand trial) and criminal incapacity (insanity) has had the potential to cause confusion, especially where both issues are raised simultaneously at a trial. Unfitness to stand trial is not discussed here but was the subject of investigation in an earlier volume entitled Fitness to Plead - International and Comparative Perspectives, Oxford, 2018. It is hoped this book will become a benchmark for theory and practice around the insanity defence while providing a coherent and detailed account of its diverse influence and manifestations across a wide range of jurisdictions |
| Subject |
Insanity defense.
|
|
Insanity (Law)
|
|
Insanity defense.
|
|
Insanity (Law)
|
|
Laws of specific jurisdictions & specific areas of law.
|
|
Law.
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| Author |
Mackay, R. D.
|
|
Brookbanks, Warren J.
|
| ISBN |
9780192597182 |
|
0192597183 |
|
