Codification, Macaulay and the Indian Penal Code: The Legacies and Modern Challenges of Criminal Law Reform (International and Comparative Criminal Justice)

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. Contents 6 Preface 8 List of Abbreviations of Law Reports Cited 12 List of Contributors 16 Part I: Background and Overview 18 1 Revitalising Macaulay’s Indian Penal Code • Stanley Yeo and Barry Wright 20 2 Macaulay’s Indian Penal Code: Historical Context and Originating Principles • Barry Wright 36 Part II: Principles of Culpability 74 3 The Fault Elements of Offences • Neil Morgan 76 4 The Conduct Element of Offences • Bob Sullivan 104 5 Mistake and Strict Liability • Kumaralingam Amirthalingam 126 6 Abetment, Criminal Conspiracy and Attempt • Wing-Cheong Chan 146 7 Vicarious Liability • Michael Hor 172 Part III: Principles of Exculpation 200 8 Private Defence • Cheah Wui Ling 202 9 Duress and Necessity • Stanley Yeo 220 10 Insanity • Gerry Ferguson 248 11 Intoxication • Gerry Ferguson 274 12 Provocation • Ian Leader-Elliott 302 Part IV: Challenges of Codification and Criminal Law Reform 328 13 An Evaluation of Judicial Interpretations of the Australian Model Criminal Code • Matthew Goode 330 14 Recent Law Reform and Codification of the General Principles of Criminal Law in England and Wales: A Tale of Woe • Chris Clarkson 354 15 Principled Criminal Law Reform: Could Macaulay Survive the Age of Governing through Crime? Reflections from the Floor • Mark Findlay 382 Index 388 To mark the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Indian Penal Code, sixteen international experts were invited to discuss its legacy within the common law world. This resulting book comprises not only a description of the general principles found in the IPC, but a consideration of modern views and developments on those principles and related doctrinal issues, and proposals for reforming the IPC in the light of those views and developments and within the spirit of Macaulay's original draft code