General Principles of Criminal Liability Assignment

General Principles of Criminal Liability - Assignment Example And, anything that does not match with such goodness is evil or crime deserving punishment. Such a belief is followed by the society as a whole and such moral thoughts consider crime as evil, reflecting a direct association of the criminal law and morality (Gilly, Gilinskiy and Sergevnin 2009). Jurisprudential positivists have tried to focus on the fact that law and morality are separated. The connection between law and morality was mainly supported by the classical natural law thinkers. However positivism reflects a theory that criminal law is not associated with moral. The positivists tried their best to distinguish between law and morality but it could be obtained that if the two were separated then all intersections of criminal law and morality would be rejected. Thus the concept of positivism in relation to cause a separation between law and morality was found to be confusing and hence eventually unacceptable (Legal Positivism of Law 2012). The inherent relation between law and morality has become more prominent. This is reflected in issues of homosexual marriage or rights of abortion where the criminal law based on English law can be seen to be supporting issues based on the moral principles carried by the society since the early times. One of the most common cases in the English law that reflects on the relation between the criminal law and mortality is the Regina v. Dudley & Stephens Case. The case reflects upon two men and a boy who became stranded at a sea, and when they were almost dying, the two men decided to kill the boy and eat him up, considering the fact that the boy did not have a family like they did, and also was starving. However, post their rescue, the two men were charged by the court as guilty of the murder and the law does not have support for the excuse they presented (Regina v. Dudley & Stephens: Morality, Murder and the Criminal Law 2009). In the above mentioned cases, the decisions of the legal system have significantly been based o n the moral beliefs of the society. Thus it can be said that although the positivists tried to distinguish the two considering the fact that the nature of the law needs to be different and irrespective of the moral beliefs of the society; however, it could not be achieved and hence the inherent relation of law and morality is prevalent and can be significantly seen in several criminal cases in the present times. Solution 2: As far as legal certainty with regard to English law is concerned, there are laws that determine the laws in the system. There are particular discipline and approaches of all lawyers that they use for resolution of legal issues. One of the main aims of the system of precedent is to establish legal certainty. Considering the law of precedent, the legal system should stand by what it has decided on any particular issue. This is also known as the doctrine of stare decisis, where for example, the decision taken by a High Court is imposed upon the lower courts. Howeve r, such a legal system would only mean that in certain cases, the treatment for same crimes or acts might become different thereby raising the question of injustice, if the precedent cases are not highlighted or overviewed while considering a current case (Perell 1987). As could be observed in the case of Bell v Lever Brothers Ltd, the judgment was based