ABSTRACT
This chapter considers whether the criminalization jurisprudence of international human rights law can have value for the development of criminal theory. It starts by noting that international human rights law cannot act as a criminalization framework by itself. It suggests, however, that a number of elements of international human rights law could inspire criminal theory. These include the vertical conception of rights used in international human rights law; its readiness to take account of concepts such as community consensus and human dignity; its multi-factorial approach to reasoning; its recognition of a positive obligation to criminalize; and its possible use to identify acts where there is an especially strong argument for or against criminalization.
