Preface to the eighth edition

AuthorKent Roach
Pages23-25
xxiii
PR EFAC E
This book is designed to provide a concise and current discussion of
the basic principles of Canadian criminal law. To this end, the heart
of this book examines the principles of the general part of the crim-
inal law: the elements of oences and the relevant defences. It follows
the traditional conceptualization of the general part, but it examines
unfulf‌illed cr imes and participation in crimes earlier than other works
because of their great pract ical importance and their eective expan sion
of the prohibited act. Regulatory oences and corporate criminal lia-
bility are exam ined together because of their f unctional and contextual
similarities.
A few chapters attempt to place the general principles of the crim-
inal law in context. Chapter 1 provides an overview of all the topics
examined in the book and some basic and current criminal justice
statistics that help place the criminal law in a broader social context.
Chapter 12 examines various trends in the criminal law, including the
impact of the Charter, broad def‌initions of crime, and the incre ased use
of objective forms of liability.
Chapter 2 examines the constitutional principles that aect the
investigation of crime, the criminal trial process, and the substantive
criminal law as they relate to fault requirements and defences. This pro-
vides readers with a basic outline of the criminal process, which starts
with the legislature enacting a crime that is then subject to discretion-
ary enforcement by police and prosecutors and to adjudication before
independent courts and, in some cases, juries.

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