It is now rather unfashionable to begin law books with definitions. :17)' HE CRIMINAL-LAW TEXTBOOK embodies the supreme positivism t of the law. The moral, political and social dimensions of the law are tantalizingly raised and dismissed...
moreIt is now rather unfashionable to begin law books with definitions. :17)' HE CRIMINAL-LAW TEXTBOOK embodies the supreme positivism t of the law. The moral, political and social dimensions of the law are tantalizingly raised and dismissed in a single movement in favour of grinding technical discussions of legal minutiae. Entire chapters and many hundreds of footnotes are devoted to such arcane issues as impossible attempts or the precise meaning of 'subjective liability'. As if this weren't enough, we are continuously reminded by the authors of how uniquely enjoyable the criminal law is supposed to be to students. It alone is said to capture the rich tapestry of human lifethough our experience in the classroom suggests otherwise. The standard opening chapter illustrates perfectly this uneasy relationship between the criminal law and what, for want of a better term, might be called its moral and social context.' It is, invariably, on the definition of crimeseeking to define the scope of the work and so, more or less implicitly, the object of the criminal law. While, as Smith and Hogan are aware, it may be unfashionable to begin law books with definitions, few seem capable of resisting. No amount of tinkering with the order and style of presentation can alter the fact that the authors of the average criminal-law textbook are, and are perhaps destined to remain, deeply unfashionable.
