Justice Systems of the World - Research Paper Example

? Legal Environment: Justice Systems of the World Legal Environment: Justice Systems of the World Introduction The justice system isdefined as a mechanism that is devoted to apprehend suspects and punish proven criminals with several sentences. The sentences are however based on severity and type of offense a particular person has committed. In case of developed countries death sentences are rarely awarded against any sort of crime. Yet the legal systems of advanced nations are notorious for issuing life sentences against crimes such as murder and felony murder. Furthermore the legal environment of less developed countries is found to be merely passing judgments on the basis of testimonies. Nevertheless in comparison the justice structure of enlightened nations considers scientific evidence as a desirable method of proving any suspect guilty. The developed economies are investing in top dollars for integration of technology in the process of crime scene investigation so that they could minimize the probability of human error in the process of convicting criminals. Additionally, in advanced nations police takes charge of the crime scene in order to gather evidentiary material such as DNA, fingerprints and other similar items. This paper will however enlist various types of judicial systems that are currently prevailing in the world whereas; it will also discuss their effectiveness in controlling and managing local and global crimes. Literature Review According to (Frank, 1948) the fundamentals of modern judicial systems were developed and employed in the 18th century when James Medison held a meeting with governmental officials in Philadelphia. The meeting was summoned in order to devise a system that can control the growing number of crimes at that time. In those days several sorts of courts were operating. But, they were responsible for maintaining law and order in a specific locality and therefore it was difficult for the officials to apprehend criminals who manage to cross the borders of the State against which they have committed a crime because it was somehow possible at that time that any State would not consider an act as a crime that another take as a serious offense. The above mentioned problem was solved by the meeting which constituted an integrative model of justice system that unified the crime definition and punishment standards in the majority of the States. Over time, several States in the US eliminated death sentence and replaced it with a life sentence whereas very few of the localities retained the death penalty one of those is Florida. Important types of judicial systems are discussed as follows:- Civil Law This type of law is designed to govern trade activities in the country whereas it is supposed to minimize corruption, kickbacks and financial black mailing in a certain economy (Ramseyer & Rasmusen, 1997). The Civil law cannot send a person to death rather than it can impose imprisonment and fines on corporations and their managers. Common Law This typology of legal stature is believed to be more competent in terms of maintaining law and order because almost every nation in the world follows them. They are also considered as traditions (Rubin, 1977) which are being transferred from generation to generation. Moreover, they are effectively implemented across the world. Theological Law This stream of legal traditions is known to be developed in the light of religious teachings. The religious groups that exceedingly use these kinds of laws include Christians, Muslims and Jews (Lee, 1995). But, nowadays the religious laws are placed on back-burner and evidence based investigations, convictions and punishments are presently being promoted in the global legal arena. Criminal Law This law has been designed to control and manage crimes that are committed with an intention to partially or completely destroy one’s private property. In addition, criminal law helps the State in prosecuting people with charge of murder, terrorism, domestic violence and many other crimes (Hart, 1958) Anti-Terrorism Law This breed of law is a sub-division of criminal law and is developed in order to control cross border terrorism. Under this law several countries’ intelligence agencies are working jointly such as the CIA is engaged in joint operations with Pakistani forces. So that they can get rid of security threats located in South Asia. It is also important to note that the anti -terrorism law permits law enforcement agencies to violate privacy and fundamental human rights which is unlike any other law prevailing in the world. According to Patriot Act American law enforcers have an authority to take any suspected person who have been suspected to have working relationship with international terrorist organizations under surveillance because the rights of a few are often underweighted by those of many. In the light of this argument legal authorities of the US are allowing special services to uphold national security against all costs. Application of International Criminal and Anti-Terrorism Law: A System to Stop International Crimes It is a well admitted fact that the world has transformed into a global village therefore crimes became international as well. That poses a challenge of making the criminal laws global so that legal bodies could catch suspects and prove them criminals on an international level. The most significant step in this regard was taken by formulating International Justice Court that is fundamentally responsible for prosecuting international criminals and terrorists. But, countries are anticipated to sign defense and joint interrogation contracts before they can hunt down terrorists jointly. The international justice system is raw yet it is considered as a start and things will get better with the passage of time (Blakesley, 2003). It is also suggested that international agencies should work in order to rehabilitate people who have criminal records that could indeed help them in becoming an active part of the society. Findings This paper has found that local laws are the effective way of solving local crimes. But, as the time is passing the number and intensity of international crimes are growing and therefore it is becoming exceedingly important for the law enforcers to strike deals and contracts that should allow them to operate jointly with other nations to catch international criminals and terrorists. Yet, it is worth mentioning that the game of global criminology can hardly be considered as an ethical one because it is based on the idea of suppressing needs of few to fulfill those of many. Moreover the modern legal system of America is inspired by the rules made by Medison in the 18th century which unified the definition of crimes and their remedies. But, as time passed the crimes became global and so does the laws which govern them. Conclusion This paper concludes that the international legal agencies are working day in and day out to make the world a safer place. But, they are forced to suppress the rights of few to uphold the concept of national security. Additionally in developed nations scientific evidence is being considered as an only and effective way of booking a criminal because it minimizes the possibility of false conviction and imprisonment. The paper also adds that local criminology is also an efficient method of solving local crimes. But, it becomes irrelevant in terms of resolving terrorism plots and plans without the assistance of international agencies. Finally, the application of theological law has become limited in the world of the 21st century because this typology hardly uses scientific rules and methodologies to solve a crime. On the contrary it focuses on emotions and tends to consider most likely suspect as criminal and it also promotes ethnic and religious hatred in the world. References Blakesley, C. (2003). Ruminations on Terrorism & Anti-Terrorism Law & Literature. University of Miami Law Review Vol 57(4) , pp.1041-1146. Frank, J. (1948). historical Basis of the Federal Judicial System. Law and Contemporary Problems Vol 13(3) , pp.3-28. Hart, H. (1958). The Aims of the Criminal Law. Law and Contemporary Law Vol 23(3) , pp.401-441. Lee, R. (1995). Today's Religious Law School: Challenges and Opportunities. Marquette Law Review Vol 78(2) , pp.255-265. Ramseyer, J., & Rasmusen, E. (1997). Judicial Independence in Civil Law Regimes: Econometrics From Japan. Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization , pp.1-31. Rubin, P. (1977). Why is the Common Law Efficient? The Journal of Legal Studies Vol 6(1) , pp.51-63. Read More