Overview

Enacted in 1860, the Indian Penal Code is the longest serving and one of the most influential criminal codes in the common law world. This book commemorates its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary and honours the law reform legacy of Thomas Macaulay, the principal drafter of the Code. The book comprises chapters which examine the general principles of criminal responsibility from the perspective of Macaulay, and from more recent accounts by lawmakers and reformers. These are framed by chapters that examine the history and conceptual underpinnings of Macaulay's Code, consider the need to revitalize the Indian Penal Code, and review the current challenges of principled criminal law reform and codification. This book is a valuable reference on the Indian Penal Code, and current debates about general principles of criminal law for legal academics, judges, legal practitioners and criminal law reformers. It also promises to have wider scholarly appeal, of interest to legal theorists, historians and policy specialists.

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9781138255890

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Reviews

'Criminal jurists and legal historians are indebted to the editors of this splendid, stimulating collection devoted to exploring Macaulay's Indian Penal Code. Spanning a diverse range of fundamental issues generated by the Code's historical context, structure and substance, this is the first full-scale assessment of Macaulay's bold Victorian venture in criminal law codification.' K.J.M. Smith, Cardiff University, UK 'Through this unique and quite exceptional set of essays, a fulsome tribute is paid to the work of arguably the most imaginative and gifted codifier of the criminal law to have worked in the English language. One hundred and fifty years on from the enactment of the Macaulay-inspired Indian Penal Code, leading scholars have now been brought together to build on Macaulay's foundations by providing fresh insights into the prospects for codification of the criminal law world-wide. These insights will appeal to readers across all common law jurisdictions, and beyond, who will find no stone unturned in this comprehensive examination of criminal law's history, its doctrines, and its theory.' Jeremy Horder, King's College London, UK 'All in all, Codification, Macaulay and the Indian Penal Code is requisite literature for those interested in re-evaluating criminal law that is based on the IPC. The ball has now moved out of the court of academics.' Singapore Journal of Legal Studies '...this deeply learned collection of essays, written by and largely for legal scholars...' Victorian Studies 'The volume is a welcome addition to the current debate on the need for codification of law and the possible forms that it can take, especially since it highlights the deeply intertwined nature of codification in commonwealth countries. Thirteen authors from all over the world have not only scrutinised the content of the IPC and its legacy, they have also provided invaluable suggestions to update the IPC and restore its vitality.' International Journal for the Semiotic

Author Information

Wing-Cheong Chan is an associate professor of law and Amaladass Fellow for Criminal Law at the National University of Singapore. He specialises in criminal law and family law, and has written extensively in these areas. He is co-author (with Neil Morgan and Stanley Yeo) of Criminal Law in Malaysia and Singapore (LexisNexis, 2007), and has edited two books on criminal law: Fundamental Principles of Criminal Law: Cases and Materials (LexisNexis, 2005); and Support for Victims of Crime in Asia (Routledge, 2007). Barry Wright is a professor of law, history, and criminology at Carleton University, Canada. He specializes in legal history, criminal and constitutional law, and legal and political theory. He has published widely on colonial legal history, focusing on Canadian and Australian comparisons, and is editor of a multi-volume collaborative project, Canadian State Trials, that examines political trials and the administration of national security measures in Canadian history (University of Toronto Press-Volume One, 1608-1837 published 1996; Volume Two, 1837-39 published 2002; Volume Three, 1840-1914 published 2009). He is co-author (with Patrick Fitzgerald and Vincent Kazmierski) of Looking at Law: Canada's Legal System 6th edition (LexisNexis-Butterworths, 2010). Stanley Yeo is a professor of law at the National University of Singapore. He is an internationally renowned comparative law scholar who has studied the criminal laws of various jurisdictions for more than twenty years. He has authored several books on criminal law including Criminal Law in Malaysia and Singapore (with Wing-Cheong Chan and Neil Morgan); Fault in Homicide (Federation Press, 1996 - a treatise on culpable homicide in Australia, England and India); and Unrestrained Killings and the Law (Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1998 - a treatise on provocation and exceeding private defence in Australia, England and India). He has also been a regular contributor of articles to the Journal of the Indian Law Institute, the premier Indian legal journal.

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