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Jackie Hodgson & Laurène Soubise: Understanding the sentencing process in France

Jackie Hodgson and Laurène Soubise have a new forthcoming publication in , on 'Understanding the Sentencing Process in France'.

French sentencing is characterized by broad judicial discretion and an ethos of individualized justice that is adapted to the rehabilitation of the offender. The current approach aims to prevent recidivism through rehabilitation and so protect the interests of society as well as reintegrating the offender as reformed citizen. In opposition to this approach is that of the political right, characterized by the recent Sarkozy regime, which favors deterrence through harsher penalties, minimum prison sentences and increased incarceration, including after the sentence has been served in the case of offenders considered dangerous. This article looks at the practice as well as the theory of French sentencing and locates the sentencing process (for it is a process, not a single event) within the broader context of French inquisitorially rooted criminal procedure. It argues that the central part played by the prosecutor in criminal cases (including in case disposition through alternative sanctions), her role in recommending a sentence to the court and the court’s invariable decision to follow this suggestion, together with the unitary mature of the French judicial profession, means that despite the broad discretion afforded the sentencing judge, there is a remarkable degree of consistency in the penalties imposed. It examines the range of penalties available and considers the most recent addition put forward by the Consensus Commission and legislated in 2014, the contrainte pénale, suggesting that this is unlikely to have a great impact without the investment of resources in the probation service and a change in the judicial culture which still favors simple sentencing options, including imprisonment, to the array of alternative options now in place.

Thu 19 May 2016, 16:37 | Tags: Publication, Criminal Justice Centre, Research

Paper Publication by Henrique Carvalho and Anatasia Chamberlen (2016), 'Punishment, Justice and Emotions'.

As part of an on-going collaboration, Henrique and Anastasia have recently published a paper titled ‘Punishment, Justice and Emotions’ for the Oxford Handbooks Online in Criminology and Criminal Justice. The article can be accessed on-line on  or, alternatively, a PDF of the last approved version can be found at Wrap (). This paper outlines the relationship between emotions and criminal justice and argues that, although punishment has been justified as a rational response to the problem of crime, there are emotional dimensions to its practice and function that relate to broader aspects of social experience.

Thu 19 May 2016, 16:28 | Tags: Paper Publication 2016, Publication, Research

'Paul Raffield, Podcast of a radio interview about his lectures in Singapore and Malaysia on Shakespeare and the Law, part of "Shakespeare Lives 2016", a global programme organised by the British Council.'

Paul Raffield was invited by the British Council to give two “Knowledge is GREAT” lectures in Singapore and Malaysia, as part of “”, a global programme organised by the British Council to celebrate the life and work of William Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of his death. To view the presentation/podcast


Professor Dalvinder Singh has been awarded a prestigious Fernand Braudel Senior Fellowship, European University Institute, Florence.

Professor Dalvinder Singh has been awarded a prestigious Fernand Braudel Senior Fellowship, European University Institute, Florence, from May-July 2016. During his fellowship he will be participating in workshops on his current area of research associated with the European Banking Union and cross border banking supervision and resolution, and the challenges faced by countries in the European and Central Asia region. This work forms part of a World Bank project he is working on in collaboration with Katia D’Hustler and Pamela Lintner.

Fri 29 Apr 2016, 11:04 | Tags: International and European Law Cluster, Research

Fiona Smith to present at the UCL ISR Seminar - Feeding a growing population: Food Sustainability and International Economic Law

  • Topice to be covered are:-

' Existing scholarship focuseson ‘security’, ‘sovereignty’ and ‘rights’ rather than on ‘food’ with the consequence that some international economic lawyers think calls for changes to existing rules based on these three accounts are misconceived'.

'Focusing on ‘food’ in addition to ‘security,’ ‘sovereignty’ and ‘rights’ opens space for a more nuanced discussion over how international economic rules can be changed'

'A new idea of ‘food sustainability’ addresses the heart of the problems identified in the other accounts in a way that is more conducive to regulatory change'.

If you would like to find out more please

Tue 26 Apr 2016, 15:03 | Tags: International and European Law Cluster, Research, Seminar

MPs will quiz leading food policy expert Fiona Smith about the implications of leaving or staying in the EU on this important– and overlooked – question.

Fiona Smith is being quizzed by MPs in a select-committee style hearing at the House of Commons on the Implications of BREXIT on Food. It’s being held by the Food Foundation and the Food Policy Research Council. To read the press release click here and to find out more


Dr Maebh Harding gives talk at WDYTYA live

Dr Maebh Harding gave a talk 'Marriage in 19th Century Ireland: The extent and effect of legal regulation' at the Who Do You Think You Are? Live Event at the NEC Birmingham on Friday 8 April 2016.

Fri 22 Apr 2016, 16:00 | Tags: Law and Humanities Cluster, Legal History, Impact, Research

Ligia Catherine Arias Barrera presented a paper at King's College at the 'International Graduate Legal Research Conference' - April 2016

Ligia Catherine Arias Barrera presented a paper at King's College at the International Graduate Legal Research Conference 4 & 5 April 2016, in the Commercial and Contract Law Panel. Her paper is entitled: 'Innovation in the OTC derivatives market: challenge for UK regulators'. It is part of her thesis, which was submitted on 1 April 2016. For further information please .

Catherine presenting at King's CollegeCatherine presenting at King's College

Mon 18 Apr 2016, 09:26 | Tags: Conference/Workshop, postgraduate, Research

Ming-Sung Kuo to present at Yale Law School 15/16 April 2016.

Ming-Sung Kuo will be visiting the States next week to present a paper entitled ‘From Fact to Norm: Narratives and the Constitutionalization of Founding Moments’ at Symposium on Founding Moments in Constitutionalism at Yale Law School (USA) on 15-16 April, 2016. For more information please


Ming-Sung Kuo has been invited to present at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (University of King Juan Carlos (URJC) in Madrid, Spain) to speak on issues about global administrative law

Ming-Sung Kuo has been invited by Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (University of King Juan Carlos (URJC) in Madrid, Spain) to speak on issues about global administrative law at a workshop on global governance and the rule of law on Thursday, 07 April, 2016. This workshop is part of Globalization, Institutions, and Environmental Justice Seminar Series at URJC.


Paul Raffield has been invited to give two “Knowledge is GREAT” lectures in Singapore and Malaysia, as part of “Shakespeare Lives 2016"

Paul Raffield has been invited by the British Council to give two “Knowledge is GREAT” lectures in Singapore and Malaysia, as part of “”, a global programme organised by the British Council to celebrate the life and work of William Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of his death. The lectures will take place on 4th April 2016 (Singapore Management University) and 7th April (Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration, the former Shariah Court). The title of the lecture is: “Henry IV, Part 2, Common Law, and the English Utopia”. The lecture in Kuala Lumpur will be followed by a reception to mark the formal launch of “桃色视频 Alumni in Malaysia”. In addition, he will be giving a lecture at the University of Malaya on the subject of Shakespeare and the Law, and running seminar workshops for A-level students at schools in Singapore and Malaysia. To read Paul's synopsis please click here.

Fri 18 Mar 2016, 12:22 | Tags: Legal Theory Cluster, Research

International Economic Law in Context Workshop Series

The Centre for the Law, Regulation and Governance of the Global Economy (GLOBE) is pleased to announce the launch of the International Economic Law in Context Workshop Series.

The objective of this workshop series is to explore the interdisciplinary and contextual nature of contemporary scholarship in international economic law (IEL), broadly defined. We hope that the workshops organised under the series will foster greater collaboration among researchers of international economic law whose scholarship straddle interdisciplinary boundaries and whose conceptual approaches draw from multiple empirical, theoretical and methodological traditions.

The workshop series is supported by the Society for Legal Scholars (SLS), the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) and the 桃色视频 Law School. Individual workshops within the series may be further supported by and/or co-sponsored with other organisations.

For further details, please visit the workshop or email: globe@warwick.ac.uk

Thu 17 Mar 2016, 15:46 | Tags: Governance and Regulation Cluster, Research

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