Codification, Macaulay and the Indian Penal Code: The Legacies and Modern Challenges of Criminal Law Reform

Description

Enacted in 1860, the Indian Penal Code is the longest serving and one of the most influential criminal codes in the common law world. This book commemorates its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary and honours the law reform legacy of Thomas Macaulay, the principal drafter of the Code. The book comprises chapters which examine the general principles of criminal responsibility from the perspective of Macaulay, and from more recent accounts by lawmakers and reformers. These are framed by chapters that examine the history and conceptual underpinnings of Macaulay's Code, consider the need to revitalize the Indian Penal Code, and review the current challenges of principled criminal law reform and codification. This book is a valuable reference on the Indian Penal Code, and current debates about general principles of criminal law for legal academics, judges, legal practitioners and criminal law reformers. It also promises to have wider scholarly appeal, of interest to legal theorists, historians and policy specialists. Cover Contents Abbreviations Contributors Preface Introduction Part One: Perspectives on Law Reform, Transitional Justice and Human Rights 1 Law Reform in Times of Peace Processes and Transitional Justice: The Sudanese Dimension 2 Criminal Law Reform and Human Rights in African and Muslim Countries with Particular Reference to Sudan Part Two: Reforming Sudan’s Criminal Laws: Challenges and Comparative Experiences I. Repressive Criminal Legislation 3 A Legacy of Institutionalized Repression: Criminal Law and Justice in Sudan 4 Challenging the Ugly Face of Criminal Laws in East Africa: Repressive Legislation and Human Rights in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania II. Arrest, Detention and Fair Trial 5 At the State’s Mercy: Arrest, Detention and Trials under Sudanese Law 6 Some Reflections on Law Reform Pertaining to Arrested, Detained and Accused Persons in South Africa III. Accountability for International Crimes 7 The Prosecution of International Crimes under Sudan’s Criminal and Military Laws: Developments, Gaps and Limitations 8 The Implementation of International Criminal Law in Arab States: The Jordanian Experience 9 Lessons from a State of Flux: The International Justice Laboratory of the Great Lakes Pact IV. Criminal Law and Gender-Based Violence 10 Gendered Justice: Women and the Application of Penal Laws in the Sudan 11 Through the Looking Glass: The Emergence, Confused Application and Demise of Pakistan’s Hudood Rape Laws 12 Sexual Violence and the Law: Comparative Legislative Experiences in Selected Southern African Countries 13 Future Perspectives: Debating Criminal Law Reform and Human Rights in Sudan Index