On Crimes and Punishments

E69844

On Crimes and Punishments is an influential 18th-century treatise that laid the foundations of modern criminal law and penology by arguing for rational, proportionate punishment and against torture and the death penalty.

Aliases (1)

Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf book
legal philosophy work
treatise
advocates deterrence-based punishment
legality principle
proportional punishment
aimOfPunishment general deterrence
prevention of crime
author Cesare Beccaria
callsFor clear written laws
limitation of judicial interpretation
public trials
century 18th century
countryOfOrigin Italy
criticizes disproportionate penalties
inquisitorial procedures
secret accusations
genre legal treatise
penology
political philosophy
historicalSignificance foundation of classical criminology
major influence on penal reform debates
milestone in abolition of torture
influenced American criminal justice system
European penal reforms
classical school of criminology
modern criminal law
modern penology
utilitarian legal theory
influencedBy Enlightenment rationalism
utilitarianism
keyConcept celerity of punishment
certainty of punishment
nulla poena sine lege
nullum crimen sine lege
presumption of innocence
proportionality of punishment
social contract
language Italian
mainSubject criminal justice reform
criminal law
penology
opposes arbitrary judicial discretion
death penalty
torture
originalTitle Dei delitti e delle pene
philosophicalMovement Enlightenment
positionOnDeathPenalty abolitionist
positionOnTorture abolitionist
publicationYear 1764

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Cesare Beccaria
Jeremy Bentham ("The Rationale of Punishment")
notableWork
Dei delitti e delle pene
titleTranslation

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