CRIMINAL CULPABILITY - THE POSSIBILITY OF A GENERAL-THEORY

In this article, I try to do two things. First I analyse critically th e suggestion that the principles of criminal culpability can be explai ned by reference to a single, all-encompassing concept, such as ''defi ance of the law''. I then go on to explain the foundations of criminal culpability by reference to three interlocking theories - the capacit y theory, the character theory, and the agency theory. I conclude that even these three theories may not be sufficient to explain the comple x structure of culpability, which is shaped as much by shared cultural understanding as by moral theory.