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CRIT JUR CRIM.
margin note: Stare decisis
Law must at all events be made, it may be true that it is better it should be made by the House of Lords, than by an inferior Court: but what is best of all is that there should be no ex-post- facto Law at all [should be made by any body.] [For the purpose of prevention] ... ex-post-facto Law is of no use. What is past can not be pre- vented: and [/what is] future may as well be preserved? by another Law that has no such retrospective quality. Nothing can be of greater importance than that the provinces of the Judge and of the Legislator should be kept distinct. Better [/were it for] the Law remain as it is at present, with all its [/numerous] imperfections on its head, than to receive amendment at their hands. Not that a man by being a Judge is the less fit for a Legislator: on the contrary no man so likely to be fit as he. No man who has such good oppor tunities of being acquainted with [the detail of] those [defects] imperfections of the Law which want cor -recting. Tis the provinces [/functions] that should be distinct and not the persons. The same person who acting [/by instituting a rule] in the character of a [x/Judge] Legislator should do eminent service, shall by establishing the same rule in the [/capacity] character of a Judge do infinite mischief. The reason is that by establishing a new rule in the path? of the old ones he shakes their authority, and ? with that of his own. When so employd he is like the strong man in scripture, important to do good, but all
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Identifier: | JB/159/263/002"JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 159. |
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159 |
punishment |
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263 |
crit. jur. crim |
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002 |
punishment - talio - where inapplicable / stare decisis |
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text sheet |
4 |
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recto |
d101 / d102 / d103 / d104 |
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jeremy bentham |
[[watermarks::[gr with crown] propatria [britannia motif]]] |
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54086 |
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