Oxbridge Interview Qns - Death Sentence for Parking on Double Yellow Lines?
Sample Interview Qns: If the punishment for parking on double yellow lines were death, and therefore nobody did it, would that be a just and effective law?
Response framework:
Things to consider in this question
We first need to analyse what ‘just’ and ‘effective’ means exactly.
I would understand and analyse ‘just’ as a law being fair, whereby the populace as a collective find that the severity of a punishment matches the graveness of an offence. The idea of proportionality is hence glossed over here. (Take note that in an interview, always use ‘i know’ and ‘i understand xxx as’, rather than ‘xxx is…’. This is because you don’t want to restrict yourself in terms of definitions and technicality of terms, as well as put yourself in a spot where interviewers might question the parameters you might have set prematurely)
‘Effective’ is assumed to be a legislation that works, meaning to say that the number of people committing a certain offense is indeed lowered after a law is passed, and as such society benefits and enjoys welfare gains.
Response
Now looking at the question itself, we first have to acknowledge that going by conventional traffic rules (in the UK or in any country using Commonwealth traffic laws), parking on double yellow lines does constitute an offence. It goes against the traffic rules, and it indeed causes inconvenience to vehicles that might not be able to drive on traffic lanes as easily, for example. (It’s always good to go with your fundamental analysis first before diving into the question to set the context right. This shows good awareness and interviewers will credit that)
That said, would such a law be effective? Going by the yardstick established, one would in fact argue yes. Having such a severe punishment against this crime surely acts as a deterrent, and with individuals not wanting to lose their lives, it would be likely that the number of people parking on double yellow lines would be reduced. The preamble also states that ‘therefore nobody did it’, which is exactly what the government would desire with such a legislation. This fufils what we understand as an ‘effective’ law.
However, the law fails to be seen as ‘just’ when we consider the proportionality of the punishment to the offence. Most would argue that parking on double yellow lines bring about inconvenience and disrupts traffic flow, but does that deserve for the offender to lose his life? The death sentence is seen to be given to offenders of the most intense and severe crimes possible, the most significant of which is of course, murder. Such an offence hence stands incomparable in terms of the magnitude of ‘wrongness’. When we look at the moral blame worthiness of the offence of parking on double yellow lines, the intent of the offender also does not match up with the punishment proposed. The offender might have acted in light of inconvenience, but likely not out of bad will or ill-intent, as there is no explicit harm being inflicted onto a specific individual. We contrast this with the act of murder, for example, which has clear drastic contrasts in the intent and ill-nature of the action. This is why the punishment of death sentence dished out for an offence of parking on double yellow lines fail to fufil the requirement of ‘justness’.
Extension ideas that you can consider thinking about
If the interviewers asks about the wider implications of such a law, we will consider what such a law’s repercussions would be on the entire legal system. For one, such a preposterously set law would clearly erode the trust that a country’s populace would have in their government and parliament that makes its policies. This would likely cause cracks in the political stability and soundness of the country - which is not a good sign for the receptiveness of future laws set.
Furthermore, if a death penalty is given for such an offence, what then would be the punishment for the gravest crimes such as murder, drug trafficking etc.? This undermines the effectiveness of laws in the country in every realm and would likely cause a breakdown in social order.
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