1
Civil and Criminal Penalties
There are several kinds of punishment available to the courts. In civil cases, the most common punishment is a fine, but specific performance and injunctions may also be ordered. For criminal offenses fines are also often used when the offense is not a very serious one and when the offender has not been in trouble before. Another kind of punishment available in some countries is community service. This requires the offender to do a certain amount of unpaid work, usually for a social institution such as a hospital. For more serious crimes the usual punishment is imprisonment. Some prison sentences are suspended: the offender is not sent to prison if he keeps out of trouble for a fixed period of time, but if he does offend again both the suspended sentence and any new one will be imposed. The length of sentences varies from a few days to a lifetime. However, a life sentence may allow the prisoner to be released after a suitably long period if a review (parole) board agrees his detention no longer serves a purpose. In some countries, such as the Netherlands, living conditions in prison are fairly good because it is felt that deprivation of liberty is punishment in itself and should not be so harsh that it reduces the possibility of the criminal re-educating and reforming himself. In other countries, conditions are very bad. Perhaps because of an increase in crime or because of more and longer sentences of imprisonment, some prison cells have to accommodate far more people than they were built to hold and the prisoners are only let out of their cells once a day. Britain and the United States are trying to solve the shortage of space by allowing private companies to open prisons.
The ultimate penalty is death (capital punishment). It is carried out by hanging, electrocution, gassing or lethal injection, beheading or stoning, or shooting. Although most countries still have a death penalty, many countries (including almost every European nation) have abolished it; some countries retain it only for exceptional crimes such as wartime offences; and many countries no longer carry out executions even when a death sentence has been passed. In other words, almost half the countries of the world have ceased to use the death penalty. The UN has declared itself in favor of abolition, Amnesty International actively campaigns for abolition, and the issue is now the focus of great debate.
Supporters of capital punishment believe that death is a just punishment for certain serious crimes. Many also believe that it deters others from committing such crimes. Opponents argue that execution is cruel and uncivilized. Capital punishment involves not only the pain of dying but also the mental anguish of waiting, sometimes for years, to know if and when the sentence will be carried out.
2
Arbitration
Until recently the law and lawyers tended to prefer litigation to arbitration as a means of resolving disputes. Today more and more controversies are submitted for a final and binding decision to a person or persons other than the judicial tribunals provided by ordinary process of law.
|
|
|
There are several advantages to using arbitration as a substitute for litigation. For one thing it is much quicker and far less expensive. An issue can be submitted to arbitration and decided in less time than it takes to complete just the pleading phase of a lawsuit. Arbitration also creates less hostility than does litigation, and it allows the parties to continue their business relationship while the dispute is being decided. Finally, under the arbitration process complex issues can be submitted to an expert for decision. For example, if an issue arises concerning construction of a building, by using arbitration it can be submitted to an architect for decision. Besides lawyers other specialists frequently serve as arbitrators; physicians decide issues relating to physical disabilities, certified public accountants decide those regarding the book value of stock, and engineers, decide issues relating to industrial production. Of course a substantial amount of arbitration is also conducted by the academic community, especially in the area of labor relations.
The process of arbitration must be distinguished from mediation. Arbitration provides a binding decision. In mediation the third party assists the parties in seek ing a compromise, but the mediator lacks authority to impose a binding solution. The purpose of mediation is to supply unbiased input into the negotiations and to encourage conciliation. The purpose of arbitration is the final solution of the dispute.
3
50 . , , , , 10000 . , , . , , , . , (5-10%) .
4
: , , , , , , ..
. , ( ) , .
|
|
|
, , , (, : , .). , , , .
