The Methodologies of Criminal Law Theory
4-5 September 2025, G24, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, UK
(hybrid participation will be facilitated)
How should we theorise about the criminal law? Many different people undertake this task, often going under different labels ('criminal lawyers', 'criminal law theorists' 'legal theorists', 'legal philosophers'). But whatever we call ourselves, what approach(es) should we take when thinking theoretically about the criminal law, both as a whole and regarding particular issues? For example, to what extent should we attempt to work from first principles and philosophical work? Should our starting point be primarily ethical or political? To what extent should our approach be guided by an appreciation of the history of the criminal justice system? When we think about psychological concepts that figure in the criminal law – such as concepts like intention and awareness – what (type(s) of) theories of those psychological concepts we should appeal to? To what extent can/should we appeal to the sciences of the mind? To what extent should we start from the ordinary person's understanding of these psychological concepts or of the terms used in criminal law, and how do we determine what that understanding is? How do general criminal law principles – such as 'fair labelling' principles, and rule of law principles such as 'fair warning' – determine which approach we should take to any of the above questions?
This workshop, kindly supported by Criminal Law and Philosophy, the Surrey Centre for Law and Philosophy, and the Cambridge Centre for Criminal Justice, will make progress towards answering these questions by bringing together speakers and commentators who adopt different starting points.
Day 1: 4 September 2025 (coffee available from 9.30am)
- 10am-1pm: The Role of History: Historical approaches vs ideal theorising
- Speakers: Chloë Kennedy (Edinburgh) and Arlie Loughnan (Sydney)
- Respondents: Matthew Dyson (Oxford) and Matt Matravers (York)
- 1pm-2pm: Lunch
- 2pm-5pm: Theorising the Criminal Mind: 'Ordinary language', lay psychology, and the sciences of the mind
- Speakers: Claire Hogg (Surrey) and Markus Kneer (Graz)
- Respondent: Bebhinn Donnelly-Lazarov (Surrey) and Alexander Greenberg (Southampton/Oxford)
Day 2: 5 September 2025 (coffee available from 9.30am)
- 10am-2.45pm (lunch break 12.30pm-1.30pm): Moral philosophy vs political philosophy
- Speakers: Andrew Cornford (Edinburgh), Hend Hanafy (Cambridge) and Alex Sarch (Surrey)
- Respondents: Sandra Marshall (Stirling), Leo Zaibert (Cambridge) and Jonathan Turner (Southampton)
There is no fee to register for the workshop itself, but pre-registration is required by 25 August 2025:
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