Penal populism and the effectiveness and proportionality of the criminal sanctions system

• In Event: Procedural and Courtroom Dynamics and the Sentencing Process 2

Abstract

Punishments should be proportionate and effective. The punishment should be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and the offender's culpability. The question of the seriousness of the offence is a valuation question, the answer to which may vary over time. Punishment may, moreover, serve various purposes (retribution, general and special prevention). Due to several legislative changes inconsistencies may have crept into the system of maximum penalties, potentially affecting the effectiveness and proportionality of the penalty system as a whole.
The increase in maximum penalties on various offences, the introduction of new offences, the expansion of existing offences, and changes in the way sanctions are enforced (e.g. legislative changes in the conditional release scheme) may (materially) lead to an increase in sanctions in the sanctions system. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the consequences of the recent introduction of various legislative changes that materially led to increases in custodial sanctions, for the legal system (legislative system), and for the effectiveness and proportionality of the criminal sanctions system, in a European (legal) comparative perspective. To this end, a legal comparison between the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Germany and France is presented.

Authors

• Sonja Meijer, Radboud University

• Jessie Stam, Lecturer and researcher in Criminal Law