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The Malum prohibitum—Malum in se Distinction and the Wrongfulness Constraint on Criminalization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2016

SUSAN DIMOCK
SUSAN DIMOCK*
Affiliation:
York University
*
*<[email protected]>
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Abstract

The criminal law distinction between conduct malum in se and malum prohibitum is five centuries old in common law jurisdictions and yet both its meaning and its usefulness remain matters of debate. I join the fray, arguing (a) that the terms cannot be interpreted literally, but that (b) there is a way of drawing the distinction that is both plausible and useful. Conduct mala in se is conduct that must be prohibited in any just polity, while mala prohibita conduct may but need not be criminalized. I employ concepts from social contract theory in the explanation.

La distinction de droit pénal entre la conduite malum in se et malum prohibitum est vieille de cinq siècles dans les juridictions de common law, et pourtant son sens autant que son utilité continuent d’être débattus. Je me joins à la mêlée, en faisant valoir (a) que les conditions ne peuvent pas être interprétées littéralement, mais que (b) il existe un moyen d’établir la distinction qui est à la fois plausible et utile. Une conduite mala in se est un comportement qui doit être interdit dans toute société politique juste, alors que la conduite mala prohibita peut être criminalisée, mais ne doit pas absolument l’être. Je sollicite dans mon explication des concepts de la théorie du contrat social.

Type
Special Topic: Mala in se and Mala prohibita
Information
Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review / Revue canadienne de philosophie , Volume 55 , Issue 1 , March 2016 , pp. 9 - 32
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Philosophical Association 2016 

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