Normative Principles in the System of Criminal Justice

Abstract

Legitimacy in the system of criminal justice can be understood, inter alia, as a moral justification of authority. In relation to legitimacy, legality means that within the legal order and legal justice of a democratic state, state bodies are only allowed to do that which is permitted through legal rules. Legitimacy and morality are broader categories than legality and legal justice. In the field of criminal justice, legitimacy is rooted in Tyler’s understanding (1990), which states that recognition of legitimacy plays a key role in obedience before the law. Bennetta-Capersa (2008) takes the view that less strict enforcement of the laws and more police work in the community can reduce the crime rate in society as a whole. This paper’s positive contribution lies more or less in the substantial applicability of terms that have been properly delineated within a social science framework.