Aspect of Human Rights in Criminal Justice - Research Paper Example

? of the Criminal Justice in the Ancient Times This research paper elaborates more on criminal justice and human rights aspect of criminal justice in the ancient times. It further explains that meaning of criminal justice underpinning its transformation and application from the olden times to present. It also underscores issues regarding the ancient human right system in the history of criminal justice and issues regarding penalties and how they were imposed on different characters in various places across the globe, preferably in Rome, Greece and Mesopotamia. Key words: Criminal justices, human rights, penalty and punishment Aspect of Human Rights in Criminal Justice in the Ancient Times Introduction Criminal justice refers to a coordination of practices and institutions of governments majoring at upholding social control, preventing and mitigating crime. Criminal justice sanctions those who break laws by applying criminal penalties and efforts of rehabilitation (Bauman, 2002). Those who are accused have protectors in opposition to abuse of investigation and powers of prosecution. The recent criminal justice system has evolved since the olden times with new versions of penalties, added rights for offenders and victims, and various policing reforms. These reforms have subsequently reflected a change on political ideals, economic aspects and customs. In ancient times especially the middle ages, exile was a common form of criminal penalty. During the middle Ages, compensation to the victim or the victim’s family which is known as wergild was another form of punishment together with violent crimes (The justice cascade, 2011). This was appropriate for those who could not make their way out financially. Rash penalties included various forms of corporal punishment such as mutilation, flogging and branding. A criminal justice system consist of three major sections namely, legislative (creates laws), adjudication (courts) and corrections such as jails, probation and prisons (Journal on Courts, law, and justice, 2011). In this system, these separate agencies operate both under the rule of law and this is the valid means of keeping the rule of law within the society. Human rights as an aspect of history of criminal justice are considered to be an evolving aspect throughout human history. This is because they have been specifically tied to laws, customs and religions in the entire ages as from the ancient times (Journal of Forensic Social Work, 2011). One of the first codified rules of law that include references to personality rights is the code of Hammurabi. In the olden times, it was a big crime to displease either the gods or the king. The king of Mesopotamia, Hammurabi who existed in 1795 to 1750 was an exalted prince who respected God and thus was divinely called to create about the laws of righteousness in the land, to eliminate the immoral and the wrong doers so that they don’t harm the weak (Bauman, 2002). The code of Hammurabi was discovered in 1901 (about 4000 years ago)and it was carved into the sides of a high monument which was eight feet tall and for the first it was known for spelling out transparently, for every one within that community to observe the penalties and expectations that was valid to each and everyone leaving in that society. A larger portion of the Hammurabi tablet majorly focuses on matters that recently would be considered as human rights in the context of family or civil law. This might include incidents such as felling trees of the orchard that belongs to a particular person or the right to remarry or pass dowry on her sons. In addition, other parts of this tablet granted debt relief for farmers who were inconvenienced by natural calamities such as drought, famine and famers whose crops were damaged as a result of careless irrigation practices of their neighbors (The justice cascade, 2011). There were various penalties for pasturing sheep in the field of another and provisions for the incentive of tenant farmers who actually made waste land very fertile. In this tablet there are requirements for mediating various disputes involving stored grains and infidelities both proven and suspected poorly made ships, hiring oxen, careless shepherd’s and improperly built buildings. Consequently, the penalties for infringing these laws, however, which presently are monetary, could frequently be inconsiderate. In this case, much depended on the relative status of the accuser and accused. A rebellious slave could lose his ear (The International Journal of Human Rights, 2010). The punishment for a son who hit his father would be the loss of his hands therefore, in cases involving a citizen and a citizen, the law of an eye for eye was largely applied, while that which involved a broken bone, only a fine was imposed especially if it was done to freed slave. Moreover, an individual could be whipped for striking an elderly person or someone in a comparatively higher rank than him and this involved sixty blows and an ox whip and if a man murdered a woman, his daughter could be put to death. On the other hand, if he killed an unborn child the punishment involved a fine whose size could affect her status in the society. Specific incentives and penalties for a doctor who treated or accidently killed a particular individual gain depended on the patient’s level or rank. Bauman (2002) explains that Hammurabi’s code presently considered barbaric compared to today’s’ standards of imposing punishment. The current program of about 282 laws has well established precedent for a legal system. This type of precedent and legally joining document protects the citizens from arbitrary persecution and punishment. The draw backs with Hammurabi’s code were majorly due to its cause and resulting effect in nature. This code held no protection on more sensitive ideas such as religion, race, beliefs and personal freedoms. In Greece, which is the origin of the concept of human rights, the concept spread in this society to take a major meaning than prevention of arbitrary persecution. In this place human rights became synonymous with the natural rights, hence the emergence of natural laws (The International Journal of Human Rights, 2010). According to Greek tradition of Socrates and Plato, natural laws are those laws which show the natural order of the entire universe, particularly the will of God who was the controller of the universe. A classic reference of this takes place in Greek literature, when Creon criticizes Antigone for disobeying his command by not burying her deceased brother in ancient Rome, where the Roman jurist believed that natural rights was possessed by every individual despite your origin form Rome or not. In spite of this principle, there exist fundamental differences between present human rights and natural rights of the past. A very common example is the perception in the ancient time that slavery was a natural practice in contrary of today understands of slavery as a breach of human right and so such action or practice is against the concept of freedom and equality that are greatly associated with the present human rights (Bauman, 2002). In 1588 to 1679 Thomas Hobbes saw natural law as very vague, hollow and too subjected to big interpretation differences. Hence, under positive law, instead of these human rights being absolute, they can be particular, taken way or even modified by a society to conform to its needs. This positivism is further described by Jeremy who was a legal positivist. He explains in his positivist view that the transfer of abstract ideas concerning human rights and their relation to the will of nature into real laws is demonstrated best by numerous legal documents that vividly describe these rights deeply. The necessity of the legal system has transformed. In the ancient times it was simply punishment or removal of threat from the society, then it was shame as a deterrent and presently it is rehabilitation as penalties for crime have changed accordingly (The justice cascade, 2011). In Hammurabi’s Mesopotamia, assisting a runaway slave, failing to pay a mercenary, failing to treat a patient and establishing a bad house were all penalized by death. During the early medieval times many crimes were penalized by death, may be because prisons were expensive and rarely used. Progressively, the notions of criminal justice and due process emerged into action and the question emerge about how society can best avoid further crime and thus in Europe and America according to Journal of Forensic Social Work (2011) the feedback was always shame. In this case; offenders were confined and whipped in before the public and this seriously violated the human rights. In villages around Anglo-Saxon, people especially men were responsible for one another’s actions and behavior whereby failing to act morally would imply having to pay the mistaking member’s punishment alone (The International Journal of Human Rights, 2010). The hue and cry could be created by an individual requesting for help in pursuing a criminal and meant that assistance must be delivered or the community gets punished as a result of this. At the times of dark ages individuals were not frequently imprisoned since the laws that existed were those for the church which basically were revolving around offences against God. The feudal system gave out a place for every individual and every person was expected to remain within the place (Journal of Forensic Social Work, 2011). Eventually those who did not adhere to this were punished mercilessly and this shows that the kind of laws regarding human rights were not a concern to the people. In this perception transformations can be traced to the urbanization of society. By the late phase of the medieval period more people were staying in towns, where hue and cry together with tithing systems were not applicable as they had in small villages (The justice cascade, 2011). In addition, there were increasing problem as renegade lords were using private armies to terrorize local communities. All these and other emerging problems regarding human rights led to a setup system where the king appointed a justice for human rights and peace for an area which was highly significant in the history of crime. In conclusion, the safety of human rights with respect to Criminal Justice and Delivery System is an indispensable characteristic for any system governed by the rule of law (Journal on Courts, law, and justice, 2011). Furthermore, the safety of human rights have been acknowledged to various scopes across time, but dating back from the second world war, the collectivity of human rights has been recognized by the United Nations as natural in the very personality of human beings hence showing their aspect of common humanity. Basic human rights like right to silence of the accused, presumption of innocence and the burden of proof of prosecution are pillars on which a fair criminal justice relies on. References Richard Bauman: Human Rights in Ancient Rome :( 2002, august 1): vol 2 issue 29: Roulegdge Courts, law, and justice publishers Journal on (2011, August 1) Reference & Research Book News, vol.1, issue 2 The justice cascade; how human rights prosecutions are changing world politics. (2011 December 1).Reference & Research Book News, 9, 2 The International Journal of Human Rights: Social welfare and Family law (2010, Vol. No.33 issue 1: Routledge publishers Journal of Forensic Social Work :( 2011): Vol: 1, issue 2: Routledge publishers Read More