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The Moral Foundations of Criminal Liability

Mouaid Al Qudah

This paper seeks to provide a theoretical account of the moral foundations of criminal liability. It does not seek to provide a general theory of criminalization. Rather, it aims to identify some moral principles and concepts which serve as a foundation and justification for criminalization and the imposition of criminal liability. Central to these moral foundations are the principles of ‘individual autonomy’, ‘individual rights’, ‘the principle of welfare’ and the ‘harm principle’. This chapter undertakes to explore this issue through addressing the general question of ‘what is a crime?’ This question involves examining why a particular type of behaviour is considered to be criminal by the law, or what considerations need to be taken into account in order to render a particular type of behaviour criminal, and to consequently justify the imposition of criminal liability.