Judicial Caning: A Study of Jurisprudence and Human Dignity
Abstract
This research carries out a jurisprudential review of judicial caning in the context of criminal punishment considering the notions of justice, proportionality, and legal dignity in reference to the Malaysian legal system. The discussion critically examines the legal and philosophical underpinning that has been established under the administration of criminal punishment considering modern ideologies that relate to criminal punishment regarding notions related to punishment in retribution, deterrence, and rehabilitation. The study will further interrogate the question of how caning as a form of judicial punishment is proportionate to criminal behavior and how it might act to undermine contemporary norms of humane treatment and aspects of human rights and the respect for individual dignity. Traditional views and defenses of corporal punishment in relation to these goals of deterrence and condemnation are challenged by this assignment in line with contemporary developments in jurisprudence and its concern for autonomy and the inherent worth of the person. The analysis concludes that judicial caning presents a continued imbalance between the power of the state to punish and discipline offenders, and the rule of law to guarantee justice and the dignity of the offender. This is an important concern about the future compatibility of judicial caning with the dignity-based approach to punishing offenders.
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