Moral and Legal Obligations of Criminal Confession: A Rare Dissertation (Uppsala 1743)

Tegnaeus, Johan (dissertant). Johan Ihre (thesis advisor)

[LAW - CRIMINAL CONFESSION]. De Obligatione rei ad confitendum factum suum [...] Sub praesidio [...] Johannis Ihre (Dissertatio Philosophica)

Uppsala: 1743. First Edition. Small 4to (195 x 150 mm). 16 pp., roman, Greek and Hebrew type, fine woodcut headpiece vignette depicting the Tetragramaton, large 8-line woodcut initial. Stab-stitch sewn dissertation pamphlet, later gilt marbled spine reinforcement in the style of the period (some staining and wrinkling). Very good. Item #4583

THE MORAL AND LEGAL OBLIGATIONS TO CONFESS TO A CRIME AND THE LIMITS OF STATE POWER.

Submitted to Uppsala University, and supervised by Johannis Ihre (who identified the Codex Argenteus as Wulfila's Gothic Bible), this remarkable dissertation "De Obligatione Rei Ad Confitendum Factum Suum" explores whether -- and under what circumstances -- an individual is morally and legally obligated to confess to a crime they have committed. Our author, Johan Tegnaeus, examines two central questions:

1. Whether someone who knows themselves to be guilty of a wrongdoing is obliged to voluntarily report themselves to the authorities; and:
2. Whether a defendant, once formally accused, must admit guilt if the accusation is true.

Tegnaeus here explores natural law, moral philosophy, and legal theory, and. In a novel approach he emphasizes the importance of conscience in the context of the integrity of civil society. Ultimately he argues that a guilty party is indeed obligated to confess WHEN their wrongdoing threatens the public good, but not in every circumstance (!), for example: when repentance and restitution have already occurred privately, and no public interest remains at stake.

The thesis advisor was Johannis Ihre (1707-1780) was a pioneering Swedish philologist and professor at Uppsala University, best known for his foundational work in comparative linguistics.

A SIGNIFICANT DISSERTATION, notable for its treatment of moral responsibility and legal obligation in Swedish Enlightenment-era jurisprudence.

COPIES LOCATED: Harvard, Univ. Greifswald, BL, Univ. Uppsala, Univ. Sodertorn, and Univ. Dusseldorf. Surprisingly, this dissertation is not in the Robbins Collection, UC Berkeley.

CATALOGUER'S NOTE: We are grateful to Dr. Emerson Richards for her assistance in cataloguing this pamphlet.

Price: $850.00