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• Opportunities and Boundaries for Criminal Law in a Risk Society : Changes in the regulatory role of criminal law in a postmodern age

  99-112

  Ferenc Irk

  Views:

  131

  In the last few decades of the 20th century, the modernization of our world started to accelerate. This tendency means a transition to a second modernization. Risk society has posed new and previously unknown challenges for the decision makers of the world. As a result of it, criminal law, with its traditional instruments, often fails to provide the right response to the new types of criminal acts seriously threatening society. Therefore, there is a need for a change of paradigm. The task to be performed among the prevailing circumstances of risk society is to select those acts the frequency of which can still be effectively influenced by criminal law through the analysis of advantages/disadvantages and cost/benefit. Instruments different to those of criminal law are to be used against serious threats that cannot be influenced by criminal law – threats the seriousness of which are not yet known to a large extent.

• The Importance of the Offender's Personality in the Infliction Process, Particularly as Regards the Criminal Records

  91-108

  Ágnes Pápai-Tarr

  Views:

  281

  During the infliction process, the judiciary needs to take into account the accused person’s personal circumstances, a process which also consists of the thorough exploration of the criminal records of the accused. It has to be considered whether the accused has committed any crime, and has been sentenced before, and if they have been, how many times, when, for what crime, and, last but not least, what the sentence was. These factors may greatly influence the inflicted punishment as a clean record is usually considered by the judiciary as a mitigating circumstance, while recidivists, offenders who pose an increased risk to society, are more seriously penalised. The penal literature of the last few decades lacks thorough studies on the previous criminal records of offenders. In my study paper and research, I attempt to make up for this shortage by examining the criminal records of the offender as a criterion of the infliction process. My aim is to present the actual judicial practise beyond the effective legislative environment and call attention to certain anomalies.