"Sozialadäquanz" (social adequacy) is a concept of German criminal law which builds upon the idea that criminal offences cannot extend to conduct which is normalized and in line with the historically situated ethical order of the community. This dissertation focuses on the viability and on the dogmatic entanglement of this legal instrument into the Slovene general concept of criminal offence. To this end, its historical developmental phases in writings of Hans Welzel are described, before an analysis of German case law concerning social adequacy is presented to the reader.
Since social adequacy is a somewhat blurred legal concept, a sizable portion of the dissertation focuses on its defining features, including its place in the general concept of criminal offence, its material criteria and relation to the notion of negative liberty. The author also analyses the Hegelian roots of social adequacy, which – supposedly – substantiate the normative powers of the communal ethical order. As an alternative, he links the instrument under question to the political philosophy of communitarianism and deliberative democracy. However, he argues for a limitation of social adequacy via the theory of positive function of human rights and is also aware of potential problems of judicial intrusion into the lawgiver's discretionary powers when it comes to criminalizing a certain type of conduct.
Equipped with this knowledge, the author then demarcates the boundaries between social adequacy and related dogmatic concepts of Slovene criminal law – conduct of minor significance and bagatelle crimes. Finally, the dissertation includes a German-Slovene comparative legal analysis of the application of social adequacy in sexual offences and corruption offences. The analysis of these areas allows the author to conclude that Slovene legal practitioners will struggle to avoid the application of social adequacy, although relying on this concept still depends on the judge's view on political morality.
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