SOC346H5 Chapter Notes -Assault Causing Bodily Harm, Restorative Justice, Youth Criminal Justice Act
Document Summary
Canadian judges continue to consider the amalgam of justificatory objectives in an attempt to determine which one, or combination, deserves priority in a given case. Under the heading fundamental principle, section 718. 1 provides: A sentence must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender. The idea of proportionality is now a central element in canadian sentencing but its origins are far from recent. Recently, from a philosophical perspective, the role of proportionality has been promoted by the interest in just deserts models of sentencing. Von hirsch, the prominent just deserts theorist, has explained the reason for the current focus on proportionality. It is because the principle embodies, or seems to embody, notions of justice. People have a sense that punishments scaled to the gravity of the offenses are fairer than punishments that are not. Departures from proportionality though perhaps eventually justifiable at least stand need of defence.