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2 - Theoretical Perspectives on Day Fines

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2021

By
Elena Kantorowicz-Reznichenko
Edited by
Elena Kantorowicz-Reznichenko  and
Michael Faure
Elena Kantorowicz-Reznichenko
Affiliation:
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
Michael Faure
Affiliation:
Universiteit Maastricht, Netherlands
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Summary

The two main justifications for punishment, and the ones most relevant for pecuniary sanctions are retribution and deterrence. This chapter aim to theoretically assess day fines in light of these two justifications. Whereas day fines seem to fit well the deterrence goal, their legitimacy in light of the proportionality principle (mostly attributed to retribution) is less straight forward. A fine, which accounts not only for the severity of the offence, but also for the income of the offender, has a better potential to deter all criminals irrespective of their income. On the other hand, such fine might not seem to be proportional to the severity of the crime if also income is accounted for, thus not fulfilling the retribution goal. However, if looking more broadly on the principle of proportionality, one can see day fines are more proportional than fixed fines. The number of days is the element which needs to be proportionate to the severity of the offence. The daily unit, on the other hand, assures that the imposed punitive bite of the sanction is similar for all offenders irrespective of their income. In addition to this analysis, this chapter discusses the theoretically optimal model of day fines.

Keywords

Day finesoptimaltheoryretributiondeterrrenceproportionalitysubjectiveobjective
Type
Chapter
Information
Day Fines in Europe
Assessing Income-Based Sanctions in Criminal Justice Systems
 , pp. 8 - 23
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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