[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# From Imperium to Ius Puniendi: On the Distinction Between Punishment and Enforcement

Lorca, 2026, Criminal Law and Philosophy — Law & Jurisprudence

Patterns: [Distinctions](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/distinctions)

## In short

The paper's core contribution is showing that two legal categories were falsely merged and must be held as distinct, which reshapes which forms of state coercion get scrutinized as punishment.

## What they found (results)

The paper argues Roman legal theory kept general ruling authority (imperium/potestas) categorically separate from coercive enforcement (coercitio), with punishment intrinsic to neither, and that modern legal theory has wrongly collapsed this distinction by treating punishment as inherent to statehood.

These researchers were not testing DSRP. The finding is theirs; the correspondence to DSRP is drawn by this site.

[Source](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11572-026-09815-9)