NCJ Number
132687
Journal
Criminal Law Forum Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: (Autumn 1990) Pages: 127-143
Date Published
1990
Length
17 pages
Annotation
A country's law belongs not to its nation's judges, lawyers, or politicians but to all its inhabitants and citizens, who are surely the prime addressees of codes, statutes, and other legislation.
Abstract
The efficacy and maintenance of the rule of law has at least two prerequisites: (1) people must understand that it is in their interests to live their lives in accordance with the rules; and (2) they must know what those rules are. Criminal law is the most basic and essential law, the law that is most concerned with right and wrong, and the law that more than all other law gives society its shape. The public needs the criminal law to be easy to find, easy to remember, and easy to understand. The code must be complete, brief, and clear. However, clarity and certainty will often pull in opposite directions. There is the paradox that universal legislation, like a criminal code, is inherently complex, but must be understood by the lowest common denominator of readers. 74 footnotes