Humane Neoclassicism

The principle of proportionality has its roots in the rule of law, legal safeguards, and guarantees to citizens against abuse, arbitrariness, and excessive use of force. It is more important to prevent overly harsh penalties than to prevent overly lenient ones. The main function of the proportionality principle is, thus, to impose the upper limit that the punishment may never exceed. In this framework, limiting discretion through proportionality is, above all, limiting excess. The normative framework of Scandinavian criminal justice policy—“humane neoclassicism”—stresses both legal safeguards against coercive care and a preference for less repressive measures in general. The key function of criminal law is to produce compliance through norm declaration and reinforcement. People refrain from illegal behavior not because it may be punished but because it is morally blameworthy (or because of force of habit). Criminal law’s goals are best served by a system of sanctions that maintains a moral character and demonstrates the relative blameworthiness of wrongful acts, is perceived to be fair and just, and respects the rights and intrinsic moral value of all parties involved.