6. Balancing Rights of the accused and the victim The protection of human rights through the criminal justice delivery system is an indispensable feature of any system governed by the rule of law. the protection of human rights have been acknowledged to varying extents across time, but since the Second World War, the universality of human rights has been recognized by the United Nations as inherent in the very nature of human beings – a reflection of their common humanity.
The Constitution of India, in its Part III, guarantees a set of Fundamental Rights to citizens. A few of these rights are also available to the accused, a suspect as well as an under trial. These rights are guaranteed under Articles 14, 19, 20, 21 and 22. Prisoners are also
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The words ‘life’ and ‘liberty’ appearing in Article 21 has been construed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in an open all encompassing way that it has now matured to an extent not seen in their mind’s eye by the fathers of the Constitution or by the Judges who gave it an initial lustre. In Maneka Gandhi’s case 37, the Hon’ble Supreme Court, held that the Article is a recognition and declaration of rights, which inhere in every individual. It was a major departure from the narrow interpretation of Article in A.K.Gopalan’s Case38.This remarkable expansion of Article 21 paved way for the resurrection of many non-justifiable Directive Principles as enforceable fundamental rights. The word ‘deprived’ used in Article was supposed to impose upon the State the negative duty not to interfere with the life or liberty of an individual without the sanction of law. With the magic wand of judicial activism, Judges imposed a positive obligation upon the State to initiate steps for ensuring to the individual a better enjoyment of his life and dignity. This positive aspect of the article essentially is a suitable tool for the higher judiciary to protect victim’s …show more content…
The Malimath Committee recommendations will be implemented stage by stage to bring about reforms in Criminal Justice System.
Reference:
1.State of Punjab v.Ajaib Singh, AIR 1953,SC 10
2.Avinash v.State of Maharastra (1983) Cr.L.J 1833 (para 9) Bombay
3.Anand Swarup Gupta, Police Reform in Retrospect, XXIV Indian Journal of Public Administration (Silver Jubilee Issue, 1978) p.59.
4.Ibid. p. 60
5.H.N.Rishbud and Indersingh v.State of Delhi [(1955) 1 SCR 115]
6.Manohar Lal Sharma v. Principal Secretary [2013 STPL (Web) 1017 (SC)] para. 29
7.(1997) 1 SCC 416: 1997 SCC (Cri) 92: AIR 1997 SC 610
8.K.P.Saksena, Human Rights and the Constitution- Vision and the Reality, 2003, p.246
9.Pathumma v. State of Kerala, A.I.R. 1978 S.C. 771
10. http://nhrc.nic.in/Documents/sec-3.pdf.
11.Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India, A.I.R. 1978 S.C. 597;
12.Kartar Singh v. State of Punjab, (1994) 2 S.C.R. 375, 1994 Indlaw SC 525, para.
* * * I feel that it would be impossible to ensure that there were the safeguards in place to protect society from your possible actions.” (victim parent, 2002). As empathetic starts, citizens will side with the victims of the defendant’s crimes because they belief the defendant’s crimes were out of evil and cruel torture and deserves all the punishment he can get and not get a break and let back to society where he has the ability to commit potential
It is important that staff recognise that human rights of all individuals involved in the service/s and that everyone be treated with dignity and respect. This rights include the equal access to assistance, confidentiality and acknowledgement of cultural heritage. This is important in relation to ATSI’s, as historically they have suffered at the hands of past government mistakes and may be less reluctant to use the service/s or follow procedure/policies because of their past experiences. Providing the best education, health and wellbeing throughout the service through such practices: It is important that all staff and service/s personalise their procedure and/or policies to reflect the families and children attending the service/s. Remaining ethically and professional safe in daily routines and practices but catering for individual families and children were best possible.
In the 1800s, slavery in the South was common. African Americans were treated so horribly that they got whipped and beaten as a punishment. They were even allowed to have basic human rights. Basic human rights include having the right to have freedom and control of yourself. For example, in Document 1: A Speech by Frederick Douglas (1850), it says "The law gives the master absolute power over the slave."
As we look throughout history, governments have implemented policies and are partially responsible for the denial of human rights to a certain group. These groups include Ukrainians and Rwandans. The denial of human rights in these regions not only affect those in the region but internationally. Both Ukrainians and Rwandans were denied their human rights. Ukraine’s hope and will was in the hands of the dictator Joseph Stalin.
The Criminal Justice system is one of the most important vessels within society due to its role in ensuring that society is abiding by its laws and holding those who transgress these laws to account. Despite its crucial role in society, it has also been under some scrutiny in regards to how effective it actually is, which results in arguments that it doesn’t properly fulfil its job as a carrier of justice. A focus on the criminal justice system is a subject of interest because it helps us understand the tension within society between individual rights and freedoms. (Schmalleger, F. and Koppel, T, 1999) Thus, this essay will be arguing that the criminal justice system is indeed broken.
In order to achieve the goals of the American criminal justice system, two different models present the basics of how cases are to be handled. The first model, called the crime control model, was developed by Herbert Packer in the 1960s. Its emphasis lies with priority being placed on aggressive arrest, prosecution, and conviction of criminals while adhering to the strictest interpretations of the law (Perron, n.d.). The other model, the due process model, is basically the opposite in that it is more concerned about protecting individual rights of the accused. The cases of Mapp, Miranda, Gideon, and Escobedo are all examples of the due process model.
Victim 's right statute has influenced the manner within the federal, state, and local criminal justice systems. In addition to statutory victims ' rights, nearly two-thirds of the states have adopted amendments to their state constitutions guaranteeing rights to victims of crime. Including crime victims ' rights in state constitutions increased the strength, stability and enforceability of victims ' rights. Although there have been strides made, in many states and jurisdictions, victims still retain no rights to be present, informed and heard, and to have a voice in the sentencing process, or to be informed, present and heard during the paroling process. Precisely who does the law describes as a victim that is permitted to a certain right is defined by the federal, state, or tribunal code.
The victim deserves similar level of protection and attention from the court like that of an accused i.e. a victim 's interests need to be balanced vis-à-vis that of accused. Victims of crime go through mental and physical trauma and suffer throughout their lives , as there place in the society changes. A victim is certainly entitled to reparation, restitution and safeguards of his rights and criminal justice would look hollow if justice is not done to the victim of the crime. In recent years, the Legislature and the judiciary have taken gradual steps to develop the necessary principles by which appropriate compensation could be paid to the victims of crimes. The gradual shift in the approach of the Supreme Court is a positive sign but other organs i.e. the government and the legislature have to make conscious efforts to consider the rights of the victims.
The ideas concerning justice are so divergent and equivocal that any attempt to design the panacea within the rubric of justice would be nothing but a perfect disharmony. No matter how much one tries, every justice brings along with it an injustice. Hence, the justice system needs to be more dynamic owing to the changing needs of the society. One such step towards achieving dynamic justice system is the concept of restorative justice, which not only seeks to redress the harm or injury caused to the members of the society, but also reforms the relationship between a victim and an offender in order to uphold social justice as well. Restorative justice brings along with it the opportunities for forgiveness and empathy.
Human rights were initiated for the protection of the basic civil and political liberties in the general public. In the United Kingdom the Human Rights Act of 1998 came into force in October 2000. The aim of the HRA in the UK was to provide further legal effect to the basic rights and freedoms contained in the European Convention of Human Rights. The rights contained in the HRA not only affect essential matters of life and death, but also issues that occur in people 's daily life. Considering the broad range of basic rights covered, it is not astonishing that the HRA is viewed as one of the most significant segments of legislation ever passed in the UK.
In the criminal justice system, the corrections component is also responsible for the rehabilitation of the convicted individual. It is their duty to attempt to make the defendant a productive member of society once again. Based on the individual’s behavior while incarcerated, the court and corrections officials may decide to place them on parole, which ensures that the individual will comply with the rules of society once they are fully released from the system. The criminal justice system is an essential role in the organizational structure of not only the United States but also in countries around the world. If there were no criminal justice system to administer punishment, the world would be unstructured, disorganized, unjustified, cruel, and not to mention a chaotic place for it citizens.
Criminal law brings the power of state, with all its resources to bear against the person. Criminal procedures are designed to protect the constitutional rights of individuals and to prevent the arbitrary use of authority of the part of the government (Miller, 2013). The United States government provides specific safeguards for those accused of crime and most of these safeguards guard individuals against government actions, as well as federal government actions of the due process section of the Fourteenth Amendment. The constitutional safeguards are set forth in the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments. This paper describes the 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments from the viewpoint of adult and juvenile criminal court proceedings.
An important role is carried out by the criminal justice system in a democratic society. My philosophy and approach for balancing individual rights and public protection is that law enforcement authorities should restrict citizens’ liberties through force to compel obedience of law if those liberties cause harm to the society. Authorities maintain law and order by restricting freedoms of the citizens through force to constrain them to obey the law penalizing those who disobey the law. However, the citizens must be free to exercise the freedoms granted and guaranteed by the Constitution. Therefore, the law must give way to reasonable exercise of civil liberties when those freedoms do not cause harm to others.
This is a very basic principle of criminal jurisprudence and has been accepted by the judiciaries worldwide. Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly proclaims the Right to fair trial of an accused, while in the United States, the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and in Europe, Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights, as well as numerous other constitutions and declarations throughout the world emphasize on the right to fair trial of an accused. Judicial impartibility was recognized as a vital right along with the right to fair trial in the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, 2002. These principles were later presented in the UN Commission on Human Rights in 2003 and were approved by the member nations and accepted as Universal Principles . This right has also been recognized under Right to Life guaranteed by Article 21 of the Indian
Human Rights What are Human Rights? Human Rights are commonly understood as being those rights which are inherent to the human being. The concept of human rights acknowledges that every single human being is entitled to enjoy his or her human rights without distinction as to race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Human rights are legally guaranteed by human rights law, protecting individuals and groups against actions which interfere with fundamental freedom and human dignity. They are expressed in treaties, customary international law, bodies of principles and other sources of law.