References to Mercy in the Reasons for Judgments of British and Irish Courts

Grzegorz Maroń144-161

Abstract: References to Mercy in the Reasons for Judgments of British and Irish Courts

The article considers the reasons for the judgments of British and Irish courts, in terms of the courts’ explicit references to mercy. The paper indicates, among others: how courts understand mercy; categories of cases in which the courts show mercy, in what cases it is excluded and why; accepted grounds for mercy; the relationship between justice and mercy; separation of powers in the context of prerogative of mercy; the influence of the victim’s will or the interests of the offender’s relatives on the merciful sentence. Courts to a certain extent and degree are guided by mercy. Considering judicial practice may help legal scholars and philosophers formulate realistic theories in regard to argumentum ad misericordiam in the judicial decision-making process.

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