Rethinking Criminal Law Theory: New Canadian Perspectives in the Philosophy of Domestic, Transnational, and International Criminal Law

 

Location: Osgoode Professional Development (OPD), 1 Dundas Street West, Suite 2602  Toronto, ON, M5G 1Z3

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CONFERENCE THEME 

The philosophy of criminal law is at a  turning point in Canada. The adoption of the Charter of Rights and  Freedoms has given the Supreme Court of Canada unprecedented latitude  to engage with principles of moral, political, and legal philosophy  when elaborating its criminal law jurisprudence. Be it in the context  of discussions about the constitutionalization of various aspects of  moral innocence, the harm principle, the rule of law, the availability  of legal rights to corporate entities, the justification of state  punishment, or the nature of crimes with international dimensions, the  works of philosophers like John Stuart Mill, Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham, Hans Kelsen, H.L.A. Hart, Joel Feinberg, Joseph Raz, and  George P. Fletcher are already given significant attention. An  appraisal of such works in light of Canada s distinctive problems and  opportunities is overdue.

Canadian law schools  and philosophy departments have sought to keep up with this development  by hiring, in recent years, a number of criminal law theorists able to  participate in philosophical debate and contribute to its healthy  development. The result has been a significant deepening of Canadian  scholarship in the philosophy of criminal law, both in relation to Charter-related issues and broader problematiques, since the time that  the Law Commissions last explored these fundamental issues. Criminal  law theory is nowwell andalive in Canada and, thus, no longer to be  associated exclusively with the older British, German, or American  traditions.

This Canadian  momentum is not only being felt in respect of the study of domestic  criminal law. Because of Canada s leadership in international criminal  law, both at the level of the International Criminal Court and of  specific war crimes tribunals, Canadian legal theorists have also begun  to turn their attention to international criminal law per se, building  on their domestic expertise. Transnational issues that exceed the  jurisdictional sphere of international criminal law have also started  to capture the attention our theorists.

The time has come to  capitalize on this rapidly developing expertise and bring together  leading Canadian theorists of domestic and international criminal law  for a conference on Rethinking Criminal Law Theory: New Canadian  Perspectives in the Philosophy of Domestic, Transnational, and  International Criminal Law. The papers presented at the conference  will be published asan edited collection(F. Tanguay-Renaud & J.  Stribopoulos, eds., Hart Publishing, 2011)and constitute whatis hoped  will become an enduring contribution to worldwide theorizing about  criminal law.

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REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Registration Fee: $160 (Regular admission) / $90 (Students)*

*The registration fee gives access to conference proceedings and covers lunch on Friday, 10 September and Saturday, 11 September.

To register, please email nathansoncentre@osgoode.yorku.ca.**

**Given that  places are limited,registrants are requested to briefly explain their motivation for wanting to attend the conference.

For any further queries, please contact the conference organizers: Prof. Francois Tanguay-Renaud (ftanguay-renaud@osgoode.yorku.ca) and Prof. James Stribopoulos (jstribopoulos@osgoode.yorku.ca).