Professor Jeremy Horder

Professor Jeremy Horder

Professor of Criminal Law

LSE Law School

Telephone
020-7955-7246
Room No
Cheng Kin Ku Building 7.07
Languages
English
Key Expertise
Criminal Law

About me

Jeremy Horder is Professor of Criminal Law at the LSE. He graduated from the Universities of Hull (1984) and Oxford (1986) before taking up a Research Fellowship at Jesus College, Oxford, from 1987-1989. He then became the Porjes Trust Tutorial Fellow in Law at Worcester College, Oxford, from 1989-2010. He was Chairman of Oxford’s Faculty of Law from 1998-2000. From 2005-2010, he was a Law Commissioner for England and Wales, with responsibility for criminal law reform, before becoming Edmund Davies Professor of Criminal Law at King’s College London, from 2010-2013. He is an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple and holds an Honorary LL.D from the University of Hull.

Administrative support: Law.Reception@lse.ac.uk

Research interests

History, philosophy and politics of English criminal law, and criminal law reform. More particularly, homicide, bribery and corruption, and the intersection of criminal law and other forms of sanction.

External activities

As Law Commissioner, I was responsible for the Law Commission Report on bribery reform (Law Com No 313, 2009) and draft Bill, that became the Bribery Act 2010. I advise, and lecture to, a variety of organisations on the importance and implications of the 2010 Act. I am a member of the steering committee for ‘Justice after Acquittal’, a voluntary organisation helping families after one of their members has been unlawfully killed but the main suspect has been acquitted.

Teaching

Books

Criminal Fraud and Election Disinformation: Law and Politics (Oxford university Press, 2022)

Criminal Fraud and Election Disinformation is about the state's approach to fraud and distortion of the truth in politics, especially during election campaigns. Deliberate mischaracterisation of political opponents and their policies has always been a part of politics; however, lying, dishonesty, and distortion of the facts remain morally wrong and have the potential to obstruct important political interests. For example, a false or misleading claim publicised about an election candidate may lead someone to lose an election that they might otherwise have won. So, does-and should-the law seek to provide protection from the risk of this happening, by directly prohibiting the making of false or misleading political claims, or by obliging internet platforms to censor such content?

click here for publisher's site 

 


 

Criminal Misconduct in Office (Oxford University Press, 2018)

Should the criminal law be used to deter and punish corruption in politics: from employing family members at public expense to improper spending on elections, lobbying, and cronyism? How did so many MPs avoid facing charges after the 2009 government expenses scandal?  In this book, Jeremy Horder tackles these questions and more. As well as offering the first treatment of the history, philosophy, and politics of the application of the offence of misconduct in office to Members of Parliament in England and Wales, Horder explains how political corruption might be dealt with in future, and how politicians could be held accountable for their actions so that they are deterred from betraying the public's trust. 

click here for the publisher's site

 


 

Principles of Criminal Law (8th Edition, Oxford University Press, 2016)

This book seeks to explain major crimes and doctrines in criminal law. The law is analysed in the light of key principles of criminal law, such as the principle of maximum certainty, the right to a fair trial, and other important human rights principles.

click here for publisher's site


 

Modern Bribery Law (Cambridge University Press, 2013) (co-edited with Peter Alldridge)

This collection of essays considers the recent radical reform of bribery law in the UK, and sets these developments in a European and International context, with contributions from practitioners as well as scholars.

click here for publisher's site


 

Homicide and the Politics of Law Reform (Oxford University Press, 2012)

This book critically examines many aspects of the law of homicide, and considers the prospects for law reform. A significant theme is way in which the direction of reform has been captured by judges, academic and professional experts, whose views may be at odds with the views of (professionally researched) public opinion. A way is sought to find more space for public opinion in the law reform effort, and to broaden the role of the jury in determining mitigating factors in murder cases.

click here for publisher's site


 

Excusing Crime (Oxford University Press, 2004)

This book seeks to distinguish between different kinds of defence to crime, depending on whether the defence is a justification (such as self-defence), an excuse (such as provocation), or an exemption (such as insanity). A distinction is also drawn between excuses (such as duress) where someone remains morally more ‘active’ in relation to their conduct, and cases (such as diminished responsibility) where that person is morally more ‘passive’, due to mental disorder. Problem cases are discussed in which these two phenomena influence one another, leading someone to commit a crime.

click here for publisher's site

Articles