This article explores the meaning of the term ‘civil order’ by asking what it means to claim that criminal law is only ‘intelligible’ from the perspective of civil order. In Part II, I examine different possible meanings of the term intelligibility. In Part III, I go on to look at ways of understanding the term ‘civil order,’ arguing that it must be seen primarily as a historically situated question – that is to say, both the question of what amounts to order, and conceptions of civility, depend on particular historical contexts. I illustrate this point by looking at how order was conceived of as a specific kind of problem in modernity and how this has shaped the understandings of the scope and the function of the criminal law. In Part IV, I look at a neglected dimension of this modern understanding of civil order by looking at the way that the relation between the market and the criminal law – that is to say, between a sphere of social life ordered by contract or civil law and those spheres ordered by criminal law – has been conceived of in modernity. I conclude that this distinction between market and civil society underpins the thinking about the proper scope of the criminal law but that, if we are properly to understand the role of criminal law in securing civil order, it is necessary to reflect not only on the civility of civil order but also on how we understand the scope of civil order in modern society.

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民事秩序、市场和刑法的可理解性

本文探讨了“民事秩序”一词的含义，通过询问从民事秩序的角度声称刑法仅是“可理解的”是什么意思。在第二部分中，我考察了“可理解性”一词的不同可能含义。在第三部分中，我继续研究理解“公民秩序”一词的方式，认为它必须首先被视为一个历史定位的问题——也就是说，既是什么构成秩序的问题，也是文明，取决于特定的历史背景。我通过考察秩序如何被视为现代性中的一种特定问题，以及这如何影响对刑法的范围和功能的理解来说明这一点。在第四部分，我通过观察市场与刑法之间的关系——也就是说，由合同或民法规定的社会生活领域与那些规定的领域之间的关系，来审视这种现代对民事秩序的理解中被忽视的维度。根据刑法——是在现代性中构想出来的。我的结论是，市场和公民社会之间的这种区别支持了对刑法适当范围的思考，但是，如果我们要正确理解刑法在确保公民秩序中的作用，就不仅要反思文明公民秩序，但也关乎我们如何理解现代社会中公民秩序的范围。在由合同或民法规定的社会生活领域与由刑法规定的那些领域之间的关系——已在现代被构想出来。我的结论是，市场和公民社会之间的这种区别支持了对刑法适当范围的思考，但是，如果我们要正确理解刑法在确保公民秩序中的作用，就不仅要反思文明公民秩序，但也关乎我们如何理解现代社会中公民秩序的范围。在由合同或民法规定的社会生活领域与由刑法规定的那些领域之间的关系——已在现代被构想出来。我的结论是，市场和公民社会之间的这种区别支持了对刑法适当范围的思考，但是，如果我们要正确理解刑法在确保公民秩序中的作用，就不仅要反思文明公民秩序，但也关乎我们如何理解现代社会中公民秩序的范围。