Public Interest in Sentencing: Deterrence or Desert or Anything Else

27 Pages Posted: 20 Oct 2009

See all articles by Yock Lin Tan

Yock Lin Tan

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Faculty of Law

Abstract

The notion of public interest in sentencing conjures up images of utilitarian consequentialism and the emergence in Singapore of a role for public interests analysis in sentencing may create a superficial impression of judicial hardening and the beginnings of a new and repressive law and order ideology. This article demonstrates that the impression is not only superficial but also false. Its central argument is that public interests analysis is or has the potential to contribute clarity and add value to desert-based sentencing and that taken together with judicial benchmarking, which it complements, reflects a model of desert, which is neither deontological nor empirical. Nevertheless, the resultant model is not necessarily inferior to either.

Suggested Citation

Tan, Yock Lin, Public Interest in Sentencing: Deterrence or Desert or Anything Else. Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, pp. 25–51, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1489703

Yock Lin Tan (Contact Author)

National University of Singapore (NUS) - Faculty of Law ( email )

469G Bukit Timah Road
Eu Tong Sen Building
Singapore, 259776
Singapore

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