Criminal Misconduct in Office: Law and Politics (Oxford Monographs on Criminal Law and Justice)

Présentation de l'éditeur : "Should the criminal law be used to deter and punish corruption in politics: from employing family members at public expense to improper spending on elections, lobbying, and cronyism? How did so many MPs avoid facing charges after the 2009 government expenses scandal? In this book, Jeremy Horder tackles these questions and more. As well as offering the first treatment of the history, philosophy, and politics of the application of the offence of misconduct in office to Members of Parliament in England and Wales, Horder explains how political corruption might be dealt with in future, and how politicians could be held accountable for their actions so that they are deterred from betraying the public's trust. Use of the criminal law should not be the sole or even the main way to remedy all corruption in politics. Nevertheless, for too long the offence of misconduct in a public office has had an ambiguous status in the political realm. If we are to preserve the good health of government it must be seen as a constitutional fundamental. A charge of misconduct provides a way in which corrupt conduct on the part of legislators can be punished with an appropriate label, holding them to account for the misuse of power by reference to the standards of ordinary people. When other - civil law or regulatory - means prove insufficient, it should be possible for ordinary members of a jury, and not for Parliamentarians or other officials, to decide whether, for example, the expenditure of public money on legislators' private income and benefits amounts to a criminal abuse of the public's trust. This book offers an authoritative and accessible account of a 'bottom-up' (jury standards-led), as opposed to a 'top-down' (officials applying their own standards), approach to the role of the criminal law in constitutional contexts." Cover Half title Series Criminal Misconduct in Office Law and Politics Copyright Table of Contents Table of Cases Table of Statutes Introduction 1. Criminal Misconduct and the Constitution 1.1 Corruption and the Offence of Misconduct in Constitutional Jurisprudence 1.2 Personal Corruption and MPs: Who Will Guard the Guards? 2. The Limits of Criminal Misconduct 2.1 A Focus on the Abuse of Power 2.2 Enforcing Virtue? Officials’ Conduct, Lifestyles, and the Scope of the Offence 2.3 Liability for Misconduct: The Organizational Dimension 2.4 The Vagueness of the Offence and the Demands of the Rule of Law 2.5 The Public Law Role of the Offence of Misconduct in a Public Office 2.6 The Harm Principle and the Role Theory 2.7 The Limits of an Orthodox Application of the Harm Principle 2.8 The Role Theory of Criminalization: Public Goods and Common Pool Resources 2.9 The Role Theory and Misconduct in Public Office 3. Republican Foundations: Holding Officials to Account in Criminal Law 3.1 Accountability from the Top-​down and Bottom-​up 3.2 An Outline of the Two Misconduct Offences 3.3 The Public Law Role of Criminal Law 3.4 Republican Theory and Law: Challenging Authority 3.5 Supporting the State’s Foundations: The Attitudinal Offence 3.6 The Attitudinal Offence at the Apex of Sanctions 3.7 Wilful Neglect: The Political Evolution of Misconduct (1) 3.8 Wilful Neglect: The Political Evolution of Misconduct (2) 3.9 Republican Values and Resistance to Legislative Authority 4. MPs’ Criminal Liability: Tackling Personal Corruption 4.1 Defining Corruption 4.2 The Scope of Personal Corruption 4.3 MPs Increasing their Private Resources: Eighteenth-Century Lessons 4.4 MPs Increasing their Private Resources: Nineteenth-Century Lessons 4.5 Corporate Interests and Conflicts of Interests 4.6 Corruption in the UK: Business and the Political System 4.7 Before R v Chaytor: The 2009 Expenses ‘Scandal’ 4.8 Before R v Chaytor: The Immunity of MPs from Criminal Liability 4.9 R v Chaytor: The Approach of the Court of Appeal 4.10 R v Chaytor: The Supreme Court Decision 4.11 A More Republican Approach to Misconduct in Cases of Expenses Abuse 4.12 The Hanningfield Prosecution: A Test Case 4.13 Political Party Liability and Negotiated Justice 5. UK Political Corruption and the Role of the Criminal Law 5.1 Corruption, Crime, and Reversing Distributive Injustices 5.2 Political Corruption, Civic Virtue, and Public Goods 5.3 Political Corruption, Exclusivity, and Inclusivity 5.4 Republican Thinking, Political Corruption, and Powers of Patronage 5.5 Patronage and Public Appointments: A Test Case 5.6 Idealism and Party Politics 5.7 Identifying Corruption: Top-​down and Bottom-​up Perspectives 5.8 Partisan Interests and Political Parties 5.9 Negation: A Public Law Remedy in Political Corruption Cases 5.10 Political Financing: Regulation and Duties to Promote Public Goods 5.11 Corruption and the Lobbying Industry Select Bibliography Index Présentation de l'éditeur : "Should the criminal law be used to deter and punish corruption in politics: from employing family members at public expense to improper spending on elections, lobbying, and cronyism? How did so many MPs avoid facing charges after the 2009 government expenses scandal? In this book, Jeremy Horder tackles these questions and more. As well as offering the first treatment of the history, philosophy, and politics of the application of the offence of misconduct in office to Members of Parliament in England and Wales, Horder explains how political corruption might be dealt with in future, and how politicians could be held accountable for their actions so that they are deterred from betraying the public's trust. Use of the criminal law should not be the sole or even the main way to remedy all corruption in politics. Nevertheless, for too long the offence of misconduct in a public office has had an ambiguous status in the political realm. If we are to preserve the good health of government it must be seen as a constitutional fundamental. A charge of misconduct provides a way in which corrupt conduct on the part of legislators can be punished with an appropriate label, holding them to account for the misuse of power by reference to the standards of ordinary people. When other - civil law or regulatory - means prove insufficient, it should be possible for ordinary members of a jury, and not for Parliamentarians or other officials, to decide whether, for example, the expenditure of public money on legislators' private income and benefits amounts to a criminal abuse of the public's trust. This book offers an authoritative and accessible account of a 'bottom-up' (jury standards-led), as opposed to a 'top-down' (officials applying their own standards), approach to the role of the criminal law in constitutional contexts." Democracy Cannot Function If The Public Loses Faith In Politicians, And That Faith Will Be Lost If Politicians Abuse Their Power With Impunity. This Book Analyses The Criminal Offence Of Misconduct In Office, And Explains How It Should Be Used, Along With Other Measures, To Hold Politicians To Account For Abuse Of Their Position. 1. Criminal Misconduct And The Constitution -- 2. The Limits Of Criminal Misconduct -- 3. Republican Foundations: Holding Officials To Account In Criminal Law -- 4. Mps' Criminal Liability: Tackling Personal Corruption -- 5. Uk Political Corruption And The Role Of The Criminal Law Jeremy Horder. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [193]-205) And Index.