Criminal Liability of Political Decision-Makers

A Comparative Perspective

This book is dedicated to a fundamental conflict in modern states: those persons holding public office are no more than ordinary citizens. Therefore, their activities must – as a matter of principle – be subject to full judicial control. But at the same time, democratically legitimated politicians need some discretion in their decision-making.

Allegations of politicians committing criminal offences in office quickly attract a great deal of media attention. Even politicians themselves frequently use such allegations to discredit their political opponents. However, to date this topic has not been fully addressed on an academic level. This book is a first step in this direction.

The individual contributions cover topics such as:

• “bad” political decisions that result in a waste of taxpayers’ money

• corruption and conflicts of interest in political decision-making

• immunities and procedural obstacles to the effective prosecution of politicians

• abuse of criminal law and criminal proceedings in the political arena

• criminal liability for decisions taken in situations of state emergency 

• the role of criminal law in public opinion.

Leading experts examine these and other issues from a comparative perspective.