What purposes have thinkers such as Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham given for criminal law?

Thinkers such as Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham were central figures of the Enlightenment who shifted the focus of criminal law away from traditional moral retribution toward rational, pragmatic goals.1

The Prevention of Crime

For both Beccaria and Bentham, the primary purpose of criminal law was the prevention of crime. As members of the classical school of criminology, they viewed criminal acts as deliberate choices made by individuals who calculate the prospective pleasures and pains of their actions. Consequently, they argued that the law should be designed to make crime unprofitable by providing penalties that are just severe enough to overbalance the assumed advantages of the offense.12

Key Principles

• Utility: Their approach was founded on the utilitarian principle that government policy should seek the greatest good for the greatest number.34
• Certainty over Severity: Beccaria emphasized that the effectiveness of justice depends more on the certainty of punishment than on its severity; he argued that excessive penalties, such as capital punishment, were unnecessary and therefore unjust.32
• Proportionality: Both thinkers advocated for penalties to be scaled according to the gravity of the offense.35

By establishing clear, predictable consequences, the legislator aims to maximize community happiness and maintain social order.4