Theorising the Criminal Law’s Person

Criminal Law in Lund Seminar Series Autumn 2025

Theorising the Criminal Law’s Person

In our next seminar, Esko Esko Yli-Hemminki, Postdoctoral Researcher from University of Helsinki, will present his dissertation titled Theorising the Criminal Law’s Person: Perspectives on the Human Individual, Problems of Assumed Properties, and Normative Solutions.

This dissertation critically examines the idea of the criminal law’s person (CLP), criminal law’s perspectives towards human individuals, and the properties that they assume. It argues that the liberal idea of a rational and autonomous agent as a basis for criminal responsibility is flawed and in crisis. This dissertation demonstrates that the various perspectives within criminal law are internally inconsistent and externally problematic due to their politically constructed nature, which diverges from scientific representations of human individuals. The study deconstructs CLP, revealing four perspectives towards the concept of a person in criminal law. A normative reconstruction advocates for a coherent normative theory for CLP, emphasizing reason responsiveness and human dignity. It suggests that Positive General Prevention should be the primary aim of criminal law. There is also a need to emphasize the social context for a more forgiving criminal law. The reconstructed CLP model aims to align with scientific understanding and respect human dignity, offering a coherent and just approach to criminal responsibility.
 

The dissertation is available here: http://hdl.handle.net/10138/599911

Please e-mail linnea [dot] wegerstad [at] jur [dot] lu [dot] se to sign up for the seminar.
Sandwiches will be served. The seminar is supported by Rune och Lena Lavins stiftelse.
Welcome!