Criminal Omissions: A European Perspective Articles uri icon

publication date

  • July 2008

start page

  • 419

end page

  • 451

issue

  • 3

volume

  • 11

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 1933-4192

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1933-4206

abstract

  • Omissions in criminal law have often been a cause of perplexity among legal scholars in Europe and America. This article analyzes some of the main theoretical approaches to the question of commission by omission, criticizing the formalistic perspective of the "special legal duty" theory and proposing a normative approach based on the idea of the "sphere of autonomy."