Sanctions in Criminal and Civil Law Essay Example for Free

Sanctions in Criminal and Civil Law Essay respond to Question 1Sanctioning or punishment is the act of imposing an unpleasant condition upon a subject in order to stop an undesirable sort that he has displayed. The main rationale is that if pack are harmed for their misemployful conduct, such wrongful conduct get come forward no longer continue in the future.1In law, there are two general types of sanctions civil and criminal.A civil penalization or sanction is one that is imposed upon a person who commits a wrong. Its purpose is to compensate the earth or the injured person rather than to punish the act act. (wikipedia, civil penalty). In simple terms, it would be to refine a wrong committed through the payment of damages or compensation.Penalties prat also be agreed upon as in the case of contracts. The parties to a contract can agree that each go away pay a certain amount as damages in case a scandalise occurs. Although this is non a state-sanctioned penalty, t his is throw in the toweled under the peoples general freedom to contract.A criminal penalty is one that is imposed to punish a person for his wrongful conduct.Forms of penaltiesFines Persons are penalise by make them pay money to the state.ConfiscationThe objects of the crime are confiscated in favor of the state or the pained party. For example, stolen goods are taken from the offender and returned to the original owner.DemotionIn the military and in government offices, persons be to be guilty of offenses against the law may be demoted in rank or even dismissed from service. pass of civil recompensesA person convicted of a crime may be stripped of certain rights standardised the right to vote or the right to run for office.Forced labor / Community servicePersons convicted may, sort of of serving sequence in prison, render community service without compensation. In some places, convicted persons are move to labor camps to perform manual labor for the state.ImprisonmentPers ons convicted may be separated from nightclub and displace to prison for a period of time. After serving time, he willing be released and will and so be whollyowed to rejoin hostel.RehabilitationPersons convicted for certain crimes like drug abuse will be displace to specialized institutions for rehabilitation.BanishmentIn some countries, persons convicted of crimes may be banished or sent away from their localities. develop ordersThose convicted of violent crimes can be prohibited from further flackinging their victims through a restraining order.Public shameFor some crimes or undesirable behavior, persons may be punish by making their acts known to the mankind through publication or announcement.Corporal punishmentIn some countries, persons may be punished by flogging or whipping. The number of lashes will depend upon the severity of the offense.Capital punishmentIn m both countries, people may be hanged, short, electrocuted or submitted for lethal injection for the mos t serious crimes. proper(postnominal) Reasons for punishment 2DeterrenceDeterrence means dissuading someone from committing the aforesaid(prenominal) acts in the future. It is about sending a message to nine that the cost of doing such an act outweighs the benefits and, therefore, it would not be worth doing. By intemperate one who violates the law, other will become fearful of committing the same violation.IncapacitationBy imprisoning offenders of the law, society is protected from them. For as long as they are placed in confined space and monitored closely, because the community will be safer. This is concerned with keeping violators of the law in concur by separating them from the law-abiding members of society.Rehabilitation any(prenominal) punishments are designed to change or rehabilitate the wrongdoer by making him understand that his behavior was wrong and that he essential not commit the same offense again. It is about changing a persons attitude and making it very cl ear to him that his actions were harmful to himself and to society and that they moldinessiness neer be repeated. This idea is based on the depression if any real change is to happen, violators of the law essential be taught to take responsibility for their own actions and they must be given the chance to undo their mistakes and straighten out their ways.RestorationFor minor offenses, the wrongdoer might be given a chance to right the wrong that he committed. For instance, if a person commits vandalism by spray-painting a wall, he might be punished by forcing him to clean up or repaint the wall. The purpose of this is to offset bad behavior with a refineive act.Retribution some(prenominal) people continue to believe that the harm inflicted on the wrongdoer is a good in itself even if no person benefits from it in reality. This philosophy emerged from the very old belief of an eye for an eye meaning that any person who commits a wrong must suffer the same wrong. This philosoph y has long been abandoned by the greater part of civilized society.Protection of ValuesPunishment can be seen as an act of honoring the values of society. By punishing a murder, the state shows that it honors the value of human life. By punishing burglars, we protect the value of property.Current trendsToday, experts in criminal umpire and corrections are moving towards the idea of reformative or restorative justice3. It seeks to use peaceful approaches to loose communities of criminal activity. This theory does away with retribution and revenge. It emphasizes that such violence will only cause society to deteriorate. Communities must participate in the reformation of socially deviant persons by giving them opportunities at a better life. This approach focuses on reconciliation between the victims and the offender. It gives the offender a chance to turn a new leaf and correct the wrongs he has committed. Punishment includes the expression of remorse and restitution for the harm do ne. instead of allowing persons to languish in prison unproductively, theorists argue that those convicted of crimes must be given a chance to port forward to their reintegration into society. Without this hope for reintegration, they will have no incentive to reform their behavior or correct their mistakes. They must be treated with dignity and they must be allowed to work hard to regain societys faith and trust in them. in that location is no single form of restorative justice. Some healthy systems give the offenders and the victims opportunities for reconciliation and restitution. Some systems allow offenders to render community service so that they can learn to be more responsible and productive rather than just serving idle time in prison. Some systems use professional counseling as a way to educate offenders and allow them a chance to express their own thoughts and feelings about their actions.Although many restorative justice initiatives have been found to be very successfu l with adult offenders, most of the efforts today are focused mainly on juveniles in conflict with the law.ConclusionDifferent cultures and legal systems in the world continue to debate on the purpose of punishment. There is one thing, however, that is universally agreed upon punishment is necessary for an orderly society.For any legal system to work, people must be informed of what is right and what is wrong. Punishment makes these lessons clear because it gives teeth to any law that prohibits a certain action. Without punishment, people will do whatever they want with impunity and without any restraint. There is great interest in defining what the congenial norms and behaviors are in society and these standards can not be preserved unless some form of punishment is imposed upon those who wish to oppose these standards.Social control is always necessary in any civilized society. pile have to be kept in line by exercising their rights in the proper way without harming the rights o f others. Without penalties, the laws can never be enforced. They will remain as empty statements of ideals without any real coercive value to back them up. If any society is to flourish, undesirable behavior must be punished and good behavior must be rewarded.The cardinal thing to keep in mind is that any punishment must always be proportional to the wrongful act it seeks to correct. If it is in addition light, then there is great risk that the behavior might continue. If it is too harsh, then there is blatant injustice and instead of setting a man right, it might reverse his spirit completely and instead of mending his ways and reintegrating into society, he runs the risk of deviating even further from acceptable social behavior.It is also important that substantial and procedural due process is strictly complied with. A person must be proven and declared to be deserving of a sanction before it is meted out upon him. The person to be sanctioned must be heard and allowed to defe nd himself in court with all legal means in his disposal. Sanctions and punishments must always be an incident of justice and never against it. People need to know that they will be punished for wrongdoing but they must also be given the guarantee that any person who is accused of wrongdoing will be treated fairly. unsloped as society becomes more orderly with a fair and impartial justice system, only nut house will result from an arbitrary and oppressive one.Answer to Question 2Under The Employment equating (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 20054, provides that that a person subjects a woman to torture, including sexual harassment, if(a) on the ground of her sex, he engages in unwished-for conduct that has the purpose or effect (i) of violating her dignity, or(ii) of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or unquiet environment for her,(b) he engages in any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual temper that has the purpose or ef fect(i) of violating her dignity, or(ii) of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for her, or(c) on the ground of her rejection of or submission to unwanted conduct of a kind mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b), he treats her less favourably than he would treat her had she not rejected, or submitted to, the conduct.It is clear that the offensive remarks and the acts of placing offensive pictures on Nicolas desk by her male colleagues constitute sexual harassment. Although the act of asking her out to dinner party is not, in itself, an act of sexual harassment, when coupled with all these other acts, it may be considered part of the consentaneous group of offensive acts committed against her.Considering that Nicola has already approached her employer who is obliged by law to act on her complaint, it is her right to take the matter to the appropriate government agency. I advise Nicola to make notes on when these instances occurred, who were involved and what happened exactly. She must get her facts straight. She must also get a written copy of the results from the investigation. As to the acts antecedent to the investigation, Nicola must keep copies of the inappropriate emails and organize them according to their date. It would be most wise for her to seek help from her summation with regard to advise and representation5.With the information in hand, she may now take her complaint to an employment tribunal. It must be noted that Nicola must file her complaint with the tribunal within three months from the time her employer cerebrate his investigation or from the last instance of harassment6.If she is later unsatisfied with the decision of the tribunal, then she can contain to appeal to an employment appeal tribunal.The present law against sexual discrimination will only be effective if the victims themselves assert their own rights. First, they must not be afraid to approach their harassers and tell them that the ac ts committed are unacceptable. The must not take these acts sitting down but rather, they must send a clear message that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated. Second, the victims must keep in mind that it is the legal duty of their employers to act on any sexual harassment complaints.The victims must approach the employers first and make a complaint to them. If it becomes clear that the employer is unwilling or unable to act upon the matter, then the victim must bring the complaint to the employment tribunal within the appropriate period. Third, sexual harassment is a serious concern of employment or labor unions. Victims must be able to approach their unions for assistance. Unions must be able to protect their members especially from serious offenses like sexual harassment.1 Punishment, at http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punishment (last accessed July 30, 2006).2 Specific reasons for punishment, at http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punishment (last accessed July 30, 2006).3 Restorativ e Justice, at http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restorative_justice (last accessed July 30, 2006).4 Statutory Instrument 2005 No. 2467, The Employment comparison (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005.5 Sexual harassment new law in force in UK, at http//www.out-law.com/page-6187 (last accessed July 30, 2006).6 Sexual harassment, at http//www.bbc.co.uk/crime/law/sexualharassment.shtml (last accessed July 30, 2006).