The Cultural Defence: How Tolerant Should the Criminal Justice System Be?

Abstract

In the first part of this paper, the author gives an outline of the difficult concept of ‘culture’ and examines the interrelation of culture and law. He then looks at the collision of different cultural traditions and values in today’s multicultural societies. The author then presents a number of important example cases in which attorneys successfully used the cultural defence to mitigate the punishment for the defendants. The final part of the paper discusses the most common arguments in favour and against the application of the cultural defence. The author concludes that the culture defence is highly problematic from a legal standpoint and bears significant risks for the rights and values of Western democracies. While cultural diversity should be promoted and defendants should be allowed to explain themselves and their culture in court, there still has to be one criminal law for all. Culture should not be abused as a justification for serious crimes and violations of human rights.