Utilitarianism is the branch of philosophy that studies the usefulness of an idea. Among the possible gains and losses, the balance must be positive to reach the intended utility. Criminal law is the most repressive b...Utilitarianism is the branch of philosophy that studies the usefulness of an idea. Among the possible gains and losses, the balance must be positive to reach the intended utility. Criminal law is the most repressive branch of legal system and therefore should be applied sparingly by the state. Its usefulness should be the protection of legal interests and minimal restriction of personal liberty. The lawmaker should seek the best way to achieve this utility with the choice of the most relevant legal interests and less repressive means before appealing to the criminal law. The legal interests protected by criminal law must be the most important ones for a social life in harmony and prohibited behaviors must be injurious or dangerous to those legal interests. The Rule of Law does not authorize criminal prohibitions without a minimum limit that allows citizens to behave according to their wishes, provided that does not harm the interests of other people. This is the calculation that legislator, judge, and interpreter should seek： more protection and less restriction to citizens.展开更多
文摘Utilitarianism is the branch of philosophy that studies the usefulness of an idea. Among the possible gains and losses, the balance must be positive to reach the intended utility. Criminal law is the most repressive branch of legal system and therefore should be applied sparingly by the state. Its usefulness should be the protection of legal interests and minimal restriction of personal liberty. The lawmaker should seek the best way to achieve this utility with the choice of the most relevant legal interests and less repressive means before appealing to the criminal law. The legal interests protected by criminal law must be the most important ones for a social life in harmony and prohibited behaviors must be injurious or dangerous to those legal interests. The Rule of Law does not authorize criminal prohibitions without a minimum limit that allows citizens to behave according to their wishes, provided that does not harm the interests of other people. This is the calculation that legislator, judge, and interpreter should seek： more protection and less restriction to citizens.
