Criminal Law and Criminology

The book on Criminal Law and Criminology is a masterly exercise to project the latest innovations, through judicial and administrative techniques of creativity. The important issues challenging the very concept of criminal jurisprudence that has become obsolete in a number of areas has been thoroughly discussed in this classic book. Keeping in view the broad objective, an effort has been made to include literature covering various aspects of criminal law, criminology and human rights including other social sciences related materials. The book includes thought provoking articles by eminent jurists, judges, distinguished law teachers, administrators, social scientists and those involved in the administration of criminal law from India, United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Malaysia and many other countries. Articles have been carefully selected and grouped under four sections, namely, (i) crime and criminal law, (ii) human rights and criminal law, (iii) criminal jurisprudence and social defence, and (iv) crime control and criminal process. Concern of Justice P.N. Bhagwati for enabling socially and economically disadvantaged people to approach courts through public spirited people gives an account of development of Public Interest Litigation in India. Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah’s approach to rule of law in the context of contemporary challenges, and Justice Krishna Iyer’s humane approach for human rights and dignity even of prisoners and the theme of equal justice for disabled and handicapped people are some of the important areas that need attention of lawmakers. Justice Jagmohan Reddy’s article on crime against women and offences of bride burning rightly demonstrate that law alone will not be effective in preventing such heinous offences unless the investigating and prosecuting agencies honestly, consciously and efficiently discharge their duties. At the same time people must be made aware of the evils of such heinous offences against humanity. The articles relating to human rights, distributive justice, international terrorism, drug trafficking and drug abuse, empirical study of elder prisoners in German jails, aircraft hijacking, law and the poor, etc. are of great relevance in the present context. Justice Betty B. Fletcher’s article on death penalty in the United Sates and article on human rights violations of women prisoners in U.S. prisons are of particular interest and show the disparity in US laws and human rights approach. Provisions relating to legal aid in criminal cases in British Columbia, Canada and legal aid in India depict the concern for providing legal help to those who can’t afford the costly process of administration of justice. This book is a classic collection of articles of very high standard and quality. There is hardly any aspect of criminal law and criminology that has not been covered in this voluminous work. The book will be useful to all those who are concerned with the study, research and control of crime, be he be a judge, an academic lawyer, a researcher, a law maker, an administrator, a human right activist or a common man.