The Oxford Handbook of Criminal Law

This book deals with various aspects of criminal law, including its relationship to a wide range of disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, and technology. It first considers a range of approaches and methods used in the analysis of criminal law, including economics, feminist studies, critical race theory, criminology, history, and literature. It then traces the origins of modern criminal law to medieval canon law and examines indigenous legal traditions before discussing the collapse of pre-modern criminal justice and the transition to modernity. The book also reviews the general principles of criminal liability; topics covered include constitutional criminal law, actus reus, mens rea, corporate criminal liability, consent, self-defense, necessity, duress, insanity and intoxication, as well as jurisdiction and sentencing. Different types of crimes are analyzed, including public welfare offenses, inchoate crimes, offenses against the person and against sexual autonomy, property offenses, drug offenses, regulatory offenses, and terrorism. Throughout, the book takes a broadly comparative and contextual approach that regards criminal law as a global discipline.