In 16-18th century Poland there were few trials of blasphemy, including interferences into Church services or processions. the severe verdicts, capital punishment included, were rarely executed. The most frequently punished for an outrage against Catholic religious feelings were plebeians. No special attention was paid to the possible offences committed by noblemen and magnates. Thus, nothing happened to Erazm Otwinowski who in 1564 trampled on a monstrance torn out from a priest leading a procession. A Calvinist Marcin Kreza who also committed such an offence in 1580 went unpublished too. At the end of century Stefan Łowejko, who publicly manifested his atheism, was not even imprisoned. Although in 1785 a young magnate Henryk Niemirycz, who publicly profaned a host, was sentenced to death. He survived because he left the country. As it shows a coat of arms usually was a good protection against the administration of justice, even in denominational matters.

Currently the recidivism rate in Ukraine. This indicates failure to achieve the goal of punishment – correction of the convict. The purpose of the article is to research the problems of resocialization of convicts, taking into consideration the psychological characteristics of the person serving the sentence. The subject of research: the subject of research is the resocialization of convicts. The following scientific methods were used to study the international experience of resocialization of convicts, to prove the hypotheses, to formulate conclusions: dialectical method, monographic method, logical method, comparative method, generalization method, system and structural method. The results of the research: it was found out that serving a certain term of imprisonment or life imprisonment affects convicts and leads to a change in their psychology in completely different ways. It is proved that the process of resocialization should be set up during the selection of convict’s type and size of punishment (taking into account the circumstances of the case, the perpetrator personality and criminogenic risks that may contribute to recidivism), continue during punishment (using training, work and communication, and providing psychological support to overcome possible psychological crises) and finish after the release from penitentiary institutions (with control over the released, employment assistance or the provision of temporary residence).

The article aims to briefly present Peter Strawson’s view expressed in his seminal article Freedom and Resentment (1962). We start with certain remarks on the position of the article among other works by Strawson and on reasons of its vast popularity manifested by many modern authors interested in the issues of responsibility or free will. Next, we move on to the issue of interpretation of the central thought of Strawson’s work. To do this, we present the most common interpretation, which at the first glance seems to express the core of Strawson’s view in a fairly convincing way. Then we adopt a slightly different perspective on the main line of reasoning in the article in question and in this context we try to interpret its general message. We argue that the main topic of the article is the philosophical issue of punishment. For this is the problem which – if we are right – is the proper object of the debate between an optimist who is also a compatibilist and a pessimist who is also a libertarian.

Despite the universal condemnation of torture, the prevention of appalling practices of ill-treatment has not been achieved in the 21st century. The repugnant practice persists and even increases because of the disingenuous interpretations of the definition of torture and the lack of effective enforcement mechanisms. Notwithstanding the cogency of the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture, particularly regarding the treatment of detainees, nowadays corporal punishment as a punitive measure is arguably a recurring phenomenon in several former British colonies and in States where the legal system is based on Islamic Sharia. While several legally binding universal and regional instruments prohibit torture in general terms, with no specific definition, the scope of the Convention against Torture definition was narrowed down by the lawful sanctions clause. The universality of the definition has been undermined by the inclusion of this clause, since different States have different practices when it comes to lawful and unlawful sanctions. The intractable problem of the interpretation of the definition by the State-Parties and the lack of effective control mechanisms has perennially posed the greatest challenge with respect to compliance with International Human Rights Law. In light of the above, this article seeks to critically dissect the lawful sanctions clause within the context of corporal punishment.

A common feature of ancient Near Eastern written tradition is the curse formula, i.e. a threat issued against an individual or group of individuals who might commit some infraction, be it the violation of a treaty, an armed rebellion against an overlord, or the removal and/ or destruction of an inscription or other monument. Typically, curse formulae invoke a divine force or forces as the agent(s) that would, if need be, carry out the punishment of anyone guilty of committing any of the aforementioned infractions. Although curse formulae from various ancient civilizations have been the subject of multiple studies over the years, one civilization that has been overlooked is the kingdom of Aksum that dominated northern Ethiopia from around the turn of the Common Era to the seventh century. This article seeks to rectify this situation by systematically presenting and analysing all known curse formulae in Aksumite inscriptions and pointing out analogies with other ancient societies in which curse formulae are attested, as well as, where relevant, ethnographic analogies with modern societies. Aksumite curse formulae are limited to royal inscriptions and are concerned exclusively with the destruction of monuments erected by kings. Their thematic content, however, sheds light on concepts of crime and collective guilt in Aksumite society more broadly.