ABSTRACT
Criminalization theories and legal policies of all societies have evolved from the foundation of ethics and morality. Various legal systems have considered certain acts to be illegal and unlawful under the guidance of morality and ethics practiced in their society. The criminal justice system is an instrument that, with the help of the government, imposes certain standards which must be abided by the citizens. There are various factors that place the social order and criminal law policies in order. In this chapter our main focus is on analyzing the relevance of ethics and morality in the administration of the criminal justice system. For the criminal justice system to work effectively, there should be a strong code of ethics accompanied by responsible agents and machinery administering justice. Various punishments fixed under our legal system come out of our society’s core ethical values. Our Indian legal system deals with these kinds of moral crimes under separate headings, where offenders are punished for the acts done in violation of the ethical standards of the society. This chapter also focuses on the issue of whether ethics must be considered important in determining the policies of criminalization.
