Simon's Legal Resources

Criminal - Purpose of Criminal Law

. R. v. Trowbridge

In R. v. Trowbridge (Ont CA, 2026) the Ontario Court of Appeal (five judge panel) allowed a Crown criminal appeal, here brought against an "acquittal for first degree murder in relation to the death of his common law spouse".

Here the court briefly considers the purpose of criminal law:

b. Purposes of criminal law and the balancing of competing values

[142] When locating the line across which consensual sexual activity turns to criminal activity, it is helpful to remind ourselves of the purposes for which the criminal law exists.

[143] One purpose is to guide individuals in their everyday lives. The criminal law is a mechanism by which minimum standards of behaviour are set, standards that guide individuals away from conduct that they might otherwise think is permissible: Plaxton, at pp. 554-55. Clear rules permit individuals to understand the limits on exercises of agency: Plaxton, at p. 554. Indeed, one of the “central animating ideas” of the criminal law is to guide individuals in exercising their agency and autonomy, and not simply to “set out the conditions under which officials will mete out sanctions”: Plaxton, at p. 558.