Beccaria - Cesare Bonesana Marchese di Beccaria

A thinker, criminal law scholar, and economist during the Italian Enlightenment. He is especially known as a pioneer of modern criminal law. Born into an aristocratic family in Milan, he initially studied law at the University of Pavia, receiving his doctorate in 1758. Later, he became interested in philosophy after reading Montesquieu's Letters of the Persians (1721), and was strongly influenced by the writings of French and British Enlightenment thinkers. He also joined a group of young Milanese thinkers, including the Belli brothers, and published the magazine Il Caffè , working to enlighten the Italian people. He is particularly known for his scathing criticism of the tyrannical criminal trials of the time. These activities led to the famous Crimes and Punishments (1764), but the author, printer, and publisher of the first edition of this book were not revealed for fear of persecution. The contents of his book were a sharp criticism of the irrationality, cruelty, and arbitrariness of the penal system and its operation under the Ancien Régime, and it stirred up extraordinary excitement among European intellectuals on the eve of the French Revolution. The core of his theory of criminal law was that the right to punish was based on the social contract theory, and from there he advocated the principle of criminal legality, the abolition of the death penalty, and the prohibition of torture.

[Susumu Komatsu]

"Crime and Punishment" translated by Masao Kotani (2011, University of Tokyo Press)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イタリア啓蒙(けいもう)期の思想家、刑法学者、経済学者。とくに、近代刑法学の先駆者として名が高い。ミラノの貴族の家に生まれ、初めは法律学を志望しパビーア大学に学び、1758年ドクトルを得たが、その後、モンテスキューの『ペルシア人の手紙』（1721）を読んで哲学に興味を抱き、フランス、イギリスの啓蒙思想家たちの著書から強い影響を受けた。また、ベッリ兄弟らミラノの青年思想家たちのグループに加わり、雑誌『イル・カフェ』Il Caffèを発行し、イタリア国民の啓蒙活動を行った。なかでも、当時の専制的な刑事裁判に対して痛烈な批判を浴びせたことはよく知られている。こうした活動から名著『犯罪と刑罰』（1764）が生まれたが、この本の初版は弾圧を恐れて著者も印刷所、発行所もいっさい明らかにされないものであった。その内容は、アンシャン・レジーム下の刑罰制度とその運用のもっている非合理性、残酷性、恣意(しい)性を鋭く批判するもので、フランス革命前夜のヨーロッパ知識人の間に異常な興奮を巻き起こした。彼の刑法理論の核心は社会契約説によって刑罰権を基礎づける点にあり、そこから罪刑法定主義、死刑廃止、拷問の禁止などを主張した。

［小松　進］

『小谷眞男訳『犯罪と刑罰』（2011・東京大学出版会）』

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