Individual autonomy as a basis of criminal complicity in New South Wales and Jordan : a comparative study

This dissertation is a comparative study of the law of criminal complicity in Jordan (a civil law jurisdiction), and in New South Wales (NSW) (a common law jurisdiction). It addresses the basis of criminal culpability of individuals, and explores the extent to which the basis of such culpability rests on the autonomy and autonomous actions (or inactions) of individuals. Ideas of such autonomy have been integral to western ethical, political and legal thinking since the seventeenth century. The analysis in this dissertation raises issues where the criminal law does not adequately take into account the limits on individual autonomy in relation to liberty of action, freedom of choice and effective deliberation. These issues highlight that a more serious and deeper understanding of individual autonomy as a ground of culpability must be taken into account by law-makers, to ensure that the grounds of criminal culpability more adequately reflect the limits on people’s individual autonomy in modern society today