John Gardner's writings on the theory of criminal law have had a significant impact on the way that this subject is understood by academic lawyers and philosophers. This book collects together a thematic selection of his most widely read and widely cited pieces.
Theoretical writings on the criminal law have often been dominated by a preoccupation with the justification of criminal punishment. This work is different. Although it discusses the legitimacy of criminal punishment it proceeds on the footing that the criminal law does many important things apart from punishing people. In...