Criminalization and its limitations

The use of the criminal justice system needs to be justified because of the repressive nature of criminal law and criminal sanctions. Traditionally, the justification of the criminal justice system has been discussed by elaborating theories of punishment. The topic of criminalization, in turn, has been widely under-analyzed in criminal law literature. In Finland, however, principles of criminalization have been a topic under active discussion during the last few decades in criminal law literature and in official criminal law documents. These principles were first developed in criminal law literature and in criminal justice policy documents, but after the reform of the fundamental rights provisions of the Finnish Constitution in 1995 these principles have gained their content most importantly from constitutional aspects. At the same time, this has meant that the principles are genuine legal principles which the legislator needs to take into account when the legitimacy of criminal legislation is concerned. In this article the Finnish view on criminalization and its limitations is examined. The article offers a thorough analysis of the nature and the contents of Finnish principles of criminalization.