Overview
Attempts at trans-jurisdictional debate and agreement are often beset by mutual misunderstandings. And while English is the new lingua franca in international and comparative criminal law, there are many ambiguities and uncertainties with regard to foundational criminal law and justice concepts. Professionals and academics engaged in collaborative comparative criminal law projects often do not understand each other, using the same terms with different meanings or different terms meaning the same thing. However, there exists greater similarity among diverse systems of criminal law and justice than is commonly realised. This third volume of Core Concepts in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice explores the principles and concepts that underpin the different domestic systems and rules. It will focus on the Germanic and several principal Anglo-American jurisdictions, which are employed as examples of the wider common law-civil law divide.
Full Product Details
Author: Kai Ambos (Georg August Universität Göttingen) ,
Antony Duff (University of Stirling) ,
Alexander Heinze (University of Bremen) ,
Julian Roberts (University of Oxford)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781316510582
ISBN 10: 1316510581
Pages: 800
Publication Date: 24 July 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Availability: Not yet available, will be POD
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon it's release. This is a print on demand item which is still yet to be released.
Reviews
'Core Concepts in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice is one of the most serious and promising attempts to build a trans-jurisdictional dialogue between Anglo-American and continental European criminal law scholars. Aimed at exploring the basis for a common grammar in Western criminal law, the book uncovers interesting commonalities and diversities between these legal traditions in their legal frameworks and criminal law theories. To sum up, a must-read book for those who really want to delve into comparative analysis of criminal law.' Ezequiel Malarino, Università degli Studi di Macerata, Italy 'The book Core Concepts in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice: Anglo-German Dialogues provides us with an opportunity to look at the boundaries of criminal liability from comparative perspectives, and to evaluate the considerations that justify the extension of criminal liability ...' Miriam Gur-Arye, Israel Law Review 'If the existence of a global society is defined by the existence of common rules with hardly any local modulations, this book presents the reader with his birth certificate. In fact, the book describes how, in practice, the interpretation and application of common rules operates to face global problems in that part of 21st-century society that is still called the West, beyond the local regulations in which it is supposed to be the most parochial of all areas of law: criminal law. What is the common foundation of punishment for omissions? Who is responsible for crimes, why and to what extent? What is consent as a defence? What is terrorism and how is it punished? Is there a maximum limit to the penalty to be imposed for a crime? What penalty should be imposed on repeat offenders? How are penalties negotiated? What are the minimum rules of due process and what should be done about illicit evidence? All these questions have answers in this book in shared rules, with local modulations more or less important, but that do not cease to be that: hardly spaces in the common rules for local adaptation. In this way, its editors (Kai Ambos, Antony Duff, Julian Roberts and Thomas Weigend) demonstrate that, beyond Brexit and high-flown statements, there will continue to exist a society with shared rules on both sides of the English Channel.' Jean Pierre Matus Acuña, Universidad de Chile 'This is a project that is wonderfully conceived. International criminal law has, as the editors say, in spite of English increasingly become the lingua franca of international criminal law, often beset by linguistic misunderstandings, where concepts that sound the same are, in fact 'false friends'. This work, therefore in seeking to foster a trans-linguistic and analytic approach to core concepts in international criminal justice is one that can be warmly applauded. The editorial team behind it reads very much as a 'who's who' of international criminal law, and the outstanding quality of the chapters it contains is testament to their dedication to such an important project.' Robert Cryer, University of Birmingham 'This is an ambitious opening foray in an exciting project, which is both comparative and conceptual. Rather than simply comparing legal practices, each chapter uses comparative inquiry to excavate underlying theoretical and philosophical assumptions and perspectives. This project offers new ideas and new frameworks that can enliven thinking within different communities of criminal law theory.' Darryl Robinson, Queen's University, Ontario
Author Information
Kai Ambos is Professor of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Comparative Law, International Criminal Law and Public International Law at the Georg August Universität Göttingen and Judge at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. Antony Duff is Professor emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Stirling. Alexander Heinze is acting Professor of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, International and European Criminal Law, and Comparative Law, at the University of Bremen. Julian Roberts is Professor emeritus of Criminology at the University of Oxford. Thomas Weigend is retired Professor of Criminal Law, University of Köln.
