Right of Punishing
idea · 2 works · 2 mentions · 3 anchored passages
jurisdiction to punish · right of punishing · the right of punishing
in the texts
An Essay on Crimes and Punishments
The doctrine that the authority to punish belongs to society or the sovereign, not to individuals, even victims.
The right of punishing belongs not to any individual in particular, but to society in general, or the sovereign.
The Rights of War and Peace
The question of who is entitled to inflict punishment, and under what conditions.
The power of inflicting the punishment, subservient to this end, is allowed by the law of nature to any one of competent judgement, and not implicated in similar or equal offences.
But to whom the right of punishing properly belongs, is a matter not determined by the law of nature.
From this opinion there arises a necessary consequence, that in a case where there are equal degrees of guilt in two parties, the right of punishment belongs to neither.