Marijke Malsch - Böcker

Victims of crime are still marginalized in criminal law practice, even though an increasingly large number of legislatures have introduced reforms on their behalf. This collection of papers from some of the leading experts in the field sets out to provide a better understanding of the problems associated with restorative justice, with the aim of improving criminal law in the area. Questions asked include whether retribution may be plausibly reinterpreted as restoration by offenders on behalf of victims?; the relationship between criminal law and tort law; and issues relating to the rights of victims.

Police response to incidents of intimate partner violence can be critical. This volume investigates the elements in the institutional, legal and organizational context that are relevant for police response to incidents in the realm of the private sphere and whether there exists a relation with the reporting of such incidents by victims. Addressing this complex question requires insights from research, policy and practice and, as such, any conclusions will have implications for each of these fields. This volume addresses issues that are key elements in the relationship between the (legal) response to family violence and the reporting by victims. These issues concern societal and legal definitions of family violence employed in research, policy making and legal practice; how the legislation of various countries covers violence in the private sphere; the way the police deal with reported incidents of intimate partner violence; and the role that other interventions play in the response to and combat of family violence and intimate partner violence.

Democracy in the Courts examines lay participation in the administration of justice and how it reflects certain democratic principles. An international comparative perspective is taken for exploring how lay people are involved in the trial of criminal cases in European countries and how this impacts on their perspectives of the national legal systems. Comparisons between countries are made regarding how and to what extent lay participation takes place and the relation between lay participation and the legal system's legitimacy is analyzed. Presenting the results of interviews with both professional judges and lay participants in a number of European countries regarding their views on the involvement of lay people in the legal system, this book explores the ways in which judges and lay people interact while trying cases, examining the characteristics of both professional and lay judging of cases. Providing an important analysis of practice, this book will be of interest to academics, legal scholars and practitioners alike.

In many criminal justice systems a new trend towards incapacitation can be witnessed. A ubiquitous want for control seems to have emerged as a consequence of perceived safety risks. This can be seen not only in the mass incarceration of offenders but also in the disqualification of offenders from jobs, in chemical castration in cases of sexual crimes, the increased use of electronic monitoring and in the life-long monitoring of individuals who pose certain risks. Trends towards incapacitation are now even spreading to public administration and the employment sector, in the refusal of licenses and the rejection of employees with past criminal records. This book discusses the topic of incapacitation from various angles and perspectives. It explores how theories of punishment are affected by the more recent emphasis on incapacitation and how criminal justice practice is changing as a consequence of this new emphasis. Many contributors express criticisms with this trend towards incapacitation. They argue for a better calibration of measures to the severity of the misconduct. In addressing an increasingly important development in criminal justice, the book will be an essential resource for students, researchers, and policy-makers working in the areas of criminal law, sentencing, probation and crime prevention.

Democracy in the Courts examines lay participation in the administration of justice and how it reflects certain democratic principles. An international comparative perspective is taken for exploring how lay people are involved in the trial of criminal cases in European countries and how this impacts on their perspectives of the national legal systems. Comparisons between countries are made regarding how and to what extent lay participation takes place and the relation between lay participation and the legal system's legitimacy is analyzed. Presenting the results of interviews with both professional judges and lay participants in a number of European countries regarding their views on the involvement of lay people in the legal system, this book explores the ways in which judges and lay people interact while trying cases, examining the characteristics of both professional and lay judging of cases. Providing an important analysis of practice, this book will be of interest to academics, legal scholars and practitioners alike.

Victims of crime are still marginalized in criminal law practice, even though an increasingly large number of legislatures have introduced reforms on their behalf. This collection of papers from some of the leading experts in the field sets out to provide a better understanding of the problems associated with restorative justice, with the aim of improving criminal law in the area. Questions asked include whether retribution may be plausibly reinterpreted as restoration by offenders on behalf of victims?; the relationship between criminal law and tort law; and issues relating to the rights of victims.

Police response to incidents of intimate partner violence can be critical. This volume investigates the elements in the institutional, legal and organizational context that are relevant for police response to incidents in the realm of the private sphere and whether there exists a relation with the reporting of such incidents by victims. Addressing this complex question requires insights from research, policy and practice and, as such, any conclusions will have implications for each of these fields. This volume addresses issues that are key elements in the relationship between the (legal) response to family violence and the reporting by victims. These issues concern societal and legal definitions of family violence employed in research, policy making and legal practice; how the legislation of various countries covers violence in the private sphere; the way the police deal with reported incidents of intimate partner violence; and the role that other interventions play in the response to and combat of family violence and intimate partner violence.

In many criminal justice systems a new trend towards incapacitation can be witnessed. A ubiquitous want for control seems to have emerged as a consequence of perceived safety risks. This can be seen not only in the mass incarceration of offenders but also in the disqualification of offenders from jobs, in chemical castration in cases of sexual crimes, the increased use of electronic monitoring and in the life-long monitoring of individuals who pose certain risks. Trends towards incapacitation are now even spreading to public administration and the employment sector, in the refusal of licenses and the rejection of employees with past criminal records. This book discusses the topic of incapacitation from various angles and perspectives. It explores how theories of punishment are affected by the more recent emphasis on incapacitation and how criminal justice practice is changing as a consequence of this new emphasis. Many contributors express criticisms with this trend towards incapacitation. They argue for a better calibration of measures to the severity of the misconduct. In addressing an increasingly important development in criminal justice, the book will be an essential resource for students, researchers, and policy-makers working in the areas of criminal law, sentencing, probation and crime prevention.