Criminal Policy under Modernization and Post-Modernisation Processes: Comparative and Legal Analysis

Abstract

Review. This article analyzes one of the most important trends of the State policy - the problem of criminal policy reformation from the comparative and legal point of view. The emphasized problem is seen through the prism of modernization and post-modernization transformations of public-law institutions. The priority trend of modernization of criminal justice policy as a result of the triumph of politically responsible State and the principle of separation of powers has become its humanization as a particular liberal value. Despite the positive nature of the first modernization reforms in the field of criminal policy, further there was formed a more balanced approach to the process of humanization under the influence of objective reasons. Under the post-modernization development of liberalization of criminal policy in the context of its further humanization is rather pragmatic, which is attributable to the realization of the limited resource of criminal law in the fight against crime. The central problem of modern criminal policy reform is the issue of the effectiveness of the criminal law. Promising solutions to the problem, according to the author, are the principle of punishement limitations, prevention and recovery nature of criminal policy. The principle of punishemnt limitations is quite realistic and economically viable because there is no opportunity to pursue the full implementation of all of the crimes committed. For the modern criminal policy it is typical to totally neglect preventive approaches, to underestimate crime prevention as the most humane way to deal with it. The primary task of the State can be the development of preventive effect on crime as both a humanistic and pragmatic goals. Along with preventive effects one more prospective trends of criminal policy should become its orientation to a remedy for victims. Restoring criminal policy involves not only minimizing the repression, but also reduce the scope of the competence of criminal justice through the decriminalization of a large part of crime, alternative criminal justice institutions (in particular the conciliation procedures), etc. So, if modernization of criminal policy equates its humanizing, under post-modernization development process of humanization of criminal policy seems pragmatic rather than liberal.