Great Debates: Criminal Law (Palgrave Macmillan Great Debates in Law)

This is an innovative and engaging account of the debates underpinning criminal law in England and Wales and how they have shaped legal events and policy. Ideal for the able student or interested reader. This title presents the key tensions and questions underlying the criminal law, thus setting legal developments in their philosophical and cultural context and enlivening the subject as an area of current debate. It is written in an engaging and thoughtful style to guide the reader expertly through otherwise intractable problems within the criminal law, and offering a range of possible conclusions that might be drawn from them. Key learnings are summarized at the end of chapters to ensure that the main points within a particular topic are clear and can readily be grasped. Where appropriate the work of leading figures is included to elucidate the concepts addressed by the author, illustrating how the subject has developed in the way that it has, and why. Online access enhances the use of the book as a launchpad to the wider criminal law and related literature, making this a useful adjunct for those wishing to take their study further. An engaging introduction to some of the more advanced writing on criminal law for a reader with a reasonable grasp of the basic legal principles, illuminated throughout with discussion of the specific issues which reveal the practical significance of different theoretical positions. This is also complemented by online access.