Publisher's Synopsis
The Criminal Law of Sierra Leone documents the substantive criminal law as it has been applied, expounded, and developed since the introduction of English Common Law, using relevant case-law authorities and illustrations. The author takes a broad approach to the study of the country's criminal law, using cases to highlight and elucidate the principles and rules developed by the courts and also to demonstrate the real world impact of judicial decisions. This study provides an analytical understanding of the country's criminal law principles and doctrines, and the opportunity to critique court decisions from their own perspectives of fairness and justice. The author begins by introducing the courts that exercise criminal jurisdiction in Sierra Leone, an analysis of the specific features of criminal law, and an exposition of its underlying principles, theories, and doctrines as a social control mechanism. He then discusses the basic elements of crime and describes how crimes are classified. Finally, he presents the defenses to criminal liability available under the law and articulates the case for major reforms of the country's criminal law.
