Mens Rea and Defences in European Criminal Law by Jeroen Blomsma

Mens Rea and Defences in European Criminal Law by Jeroen Blomsma

In the past decades, the process of European integration has influenced all fields of law, including criminal law. Whereas the creation and enforcement of criminal liability used to be purely a national matter, European legislation now requires Member States to criminalize all sorts of harmful conduct. However, this legislation does not determine the full scope of criminal liability, omitting to define general principles of criminal law. For example, the European Union refers to 'intention' in its legislation, but it has not determined what qualifies as such. As a result, what is criminal in one Member State may not be criminal in another, which runs counter to the goal of harmonization. In order to remedy this, this book establishes what mens rea and defenses should look like in European criminal law. Should intentional conduct also encompass those consequences that were not wanted, but merely foreseen as possible side-effects? Should the European legislator be allowed to criminalize conduct that does not require any proof of mens rea? What justifications and excuses could a defendant raise in court? Can torture or murder ever be excused? To answer these questions, the book infers common principles of mens rea and defenses from European law and the legal systems of the Member States. Subsequently, it merges them into one coherent and enforceable system. The author, Joroen Blomsma, was awarded the prestigious criminal law Modderman Prize for this book in 2014 (Series: School of Human Rights Research - Vol. 54)

'..this study performs a great service to scholars of comparative criminal law. Mens rea brings to life current academic discussions across the three national jurisdictions in what is arguably becoming the legal lingua franca in the European Union (if not yet Luxembourg): English. This makes scholarship in Dutch and German accessible to the linguistically challenged, without at the same time obscuring linguistic issues typical to EU law. The work offers a structured approach to subjective elements which can form the basis of analysis in a comprehensive study of all EU criminal jurisdictions, or in international comparisons.' Samuli Miettinen in Juridiska Foreningens Tidskrift (2013) 69

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781780681047
ISBN 10	1780681046
Title	Mens Rea and Defences in European Criminal Law
Author	Jeroen Blomsma
Series	School Of Human Rights Research
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Intersentia Ltd
Year published	2012-10-12
Number of pages	624
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.