Dignity Elimination and Elimination of Humanity in Law (the Criticism of Yakoobs’s theory in Criminal Law for Enemies in the Shadow of Kant’s Notion about Legal Government)

Law principles count as humanity principles in their nature and essence. Usage of available principles for humans has to include dignity which under no circumstances should be considered as a tool. However, in some cases, theories, laws, and available procedures disregard human’s dignity and status in the legal system. For instance, Yakoobs’s theory in criminal law for enemies which has caused theoretical contention amongst philosophers during the last two decades can be mentioned to combat existing insecurity and in particular terrorism. In Yakoobs’s opinion, if an individual contravenes criminal laws deliberately, they will get back to their normal life and cannot be considered as a citizen anymore; therefore, the government is allowed to pass specific laws that are different from ordinary laws for citizens to prevent, avenge, and symbolize. Yakoobs’s theory confronted criticism apart from eliminating legal principles from the human image, violation of human dignity, and not paying attention to morals in the relation between citizens and the government. In this article, the authors analyzed the concept of “criminal law f or enemies” from Yakoobs’s perspective and pointed out its criticisms after the proposed German hypothesis of “legal government” based on Kant’s notion. As a result, there is no logical reason for accepting Yakoobs’s opinion due to the fundamental controversy between his theory, codes of ethics and human dignity and its detrimental effects on defendants and criminals’ rights.