Andreas von Hirsch is Emeritus Honorary Professor of Penal Theory and Penal Law at the University of Cambridge, and Honorary Professor of Penal Theory at the Law Faculty, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Germany. Much of his earlier writing has appeared under his anglicised name, Andrew von Hirsch.

• 1. Introduction: The Emergence of the Proportionate Sentence 2. Sentence Proportionality Sketched Briefly 3. Why Should the Criminal Sanction Exist? 4. Why Punish Proportionately? 5. Ordinal and Cardinal Proportionality 6. Seriousness, Severity and the Living-standard 7. The Role of Previous Convictions 8. Proportionate Non-custodial Sanctions 9. A ‘Modified’ Desert Model? 10. The Politics of the Desert Model 11. Proportionate Sentences for Juveniles

The volume will be of interest to all those working in penal theory and practice, criminal sentencing and the criminal law more generally. It will be particularly useful for students or readers seeking a concise and up to date summary of the issues and literature relating to desert-based sentencing. Von Hirsch provides an eminently readable account of some of the most complex (and unresolved) challenges to desert theory, such as the role of previous convictions at sentencing.