The basis of the criminal justice system in India can be traced to its once colonial power, Britain. Many institutions, law and legal traditions, and even the form of government in India has been derived from the United Kingdom. In order to examine India’s modernizing criminal justice system, one must study where this system descended from. Through colonialism, the legal tradition of English common law was introduced to the colony of British India. This in which led to the secularization of law and justice and the reconstructing of the criminal justice system. As Karl Marx stated, “India could not have entered into the modern age without the reach of British colonialism” (Shahidullah, 2012, p.259). A central notion throughout postcolonial development is whether the imperialism of Western states hindered or transgressed the modernity in former colonies. However, in this case, colonialism was a stimulant for the creation of a modern criminal justice.
India is known as the largest democracy in the world. Just as many other democracy, India has an electoral process, Bill of Rights, and Constitution that protects it citizen’s rights and freedoms, in which the criminal justice system is reflective upon. However, although India holds these characteristics, the state is still far from true democracy. There are many current defects in India’s electoral system, since many citizens are underrepresented. Based on Democracy Index of 2012, by the Economist Intelligence Unit, India is presented as a flawed democracy; the country is ranked 38 out of 167 countries. The index is constructed on the principle, “…electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation, and political culture” (Democracy In...
... middle of paper ...
...factor.
Through the process of modernization, India is internally and externally altering the social norm. Although it has been a longwinded process, colonialism has aided India in attaining modern reforms. Yet, India is still in the process of modernization; since it lacks judicial accountability and independence, corruption is rooted in all sectors of government and the criminal justice system, police brutality and torture is proliferating, and there is an absence of a culture of lawfulness. Coupled with modernization which have exuberated these issues through a gradually increases of crime. In contrast, globalization and modernization has also contributed to the advancement of human rights, such as gender equality. However, in order for India to continue on the path of modernity, it must weed out the corrupt forces within the government, police, and courts.
The criminal justice systems vary in each country as far as their policies and procedures go. Each aspect of the criminal justice system has its advantages and disadvantages. The main purpose of the criminal justice system is to sanction criminals, mitigate crime, increase security and uphold a fair system of justice. In some cultures, fairness is not always given as certain laws are expected to be honored. This paper will discuss the criminal justice system in the United States, England and Japan.
Tatum’s colonial model is comprised of four stages. First, one racial group invades another, normally a minority group (whites) takes control of a majority population (people of color). Second, a colonial society is formed and the culture of the colonized people is subordinated. Next, the colonized people are governed and controlled by the colonizer. Finally, a caste system is devolved based on white supremacy. After the minority group is subordinated, the psychological consequences of colonization manifest themselves in the colonized population. The early histories and colonization of these countries were very similar. After colonization occurred in each of the studied countries, the native population was deemed inferior, their cultures were trivialized, and the natives lost many of their political rights. The natives and ethnic minorities were seen as “the problem,” and the criminal justice system was used to control these groups. Using the colonial model, Gabbidon examines the effects of colonization on the present day criminal justice
In Annawadi, the slum setting of the book “Behind the Beautiful Forevers,” nearly everything falls under the law of the free market. Things that most countries deem “basic rights,” the Indian people of Annawadi have to pay for. Clean water, education, and medical attention from hospitals are just a few things that are exploited by police officers, gangs and slumlords. The liberalization of India caused the country to begin a process of economic reform. People from the countryside flocked to the cities to find work in the new booming economy that no longer depended on its agriculture. With the increase in population around the bustling cities, came competiveness for opportunity. This competiveness made poverty rates skyrocket, making corruption (and corrupt activities) in Annawadi the only clear way of making it out of the slums. “In the West, and among some in the Indian elite, this word, corruption, had purely negative connotations; it was seen as blocking India’s modern, global ambitions. But for the poor of the country where corruption thieved a great deal of opportunity, corrupti...
2. Did you easily find the National Criminal Justice Reference Service when you searched for NCJRS on the search tools?
If given this prompt at the beginning of this semester I would have answered with a resounding yes, the criminal justice system is racist. The classes I have previously taken at LSU forced me to view the criminal justice system as a failed institution and Eric Holder’s interview in VICE - Fixing The System solidified that ideology. The system is man-made, created by people in power, and imposed on society, so of course there will be implicit biases. The issue is that these internally held implicit biases shaped the system, leading the racial and class disparities. VICE – Fixing The System addressed heavily the outcomes that we see in today’s society based on these implicit biases. Additionally, this documentary focuses on the ways that mainly
The criminal justice system is always criticized for a range of issues concerning the injustices that has taken place throughout history and even today. Many political leaders and social activists have sought to reform the criminal justice system; however, some have realized that there are systematic barriers that inhibit reformation. Political ...
The criminal justice system is composed of three parts – Police, Courts and Corrections – and all three work together to protect an individual’s rights and the rights of society to live without fear of being a victim of crime. According to merriam-webster.com, crime is defined as “an act that is forbidden or omission of a duty that is commanded by public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law.” When all the three parts work together, it makes the criminal justice system function like a well tuned machine.
The criminal justice system views any crime as a crime committed against the state and places much emphasis on retribution and paying back to the community, through time, fines or community work. Historically punishment has been a very public affair, which was once a key aspect of the punishment process, through the use of the stocks, dunking chair, pillory, and hangman’s noose, although in today’s society punishment has become a lot more private (Newburn, 2007). However it has been argued that although the debt against the state has been paid, the victim of the crime has been left with no legal input to seek adequate retribution from the offender, leaving the victim perhaps feeling unsatisfied with the criminal justice process.
Criminal justice includes the procedures that are involved in addressing matters of crime. These criminal activities are overseen by maintaining social control and mitigation any criminal activities that may take place. Criminal justice includes making sanctions to those who are found on the wrong and punishing them where necessary. Criminal justice is faced with a scrutiny by both local and international bodies (Peri et al, 2010). There are different opinions on a country’s criminal justice system and these opinions depend on different benchmarks set by the observers. Some of the observers may sometimes be victims of criminal activities that could have had lasting effects on their psychological and physical set up. The question of the
In his article, Democracy as a Universal Value, Amartya Sen asserts that democracy is a universal value. In order to develop his argument Sen needs to state his definition of democracy and define what he means by universal value. In the course of Sen's argument he gives his view of the relationship between democracy and the economy. He then defends his view of democracy as a universal value against a main argument that deals with cultural differences between regions.
Every country has a form of criminal justice system. This system consists in a different series of organizations that work together to defend, sentence and punish those that did not follow the law or have been involved in any type of crime. In most of the countries, the system is similar be-cause is based on law enforcement agencies, attorney generals, judges, courts of law and prisons. All of these organizations work together to contribute towards the better enhancement of the working cooperation within the criminal justice system. However, these procedures won’t al-ways be fully applicable in certain countries.
Theoretical perspectives help us study the underlying questions we have about society. Each perspective concentrates on diverse characteristics of society. These aspects are analyzed on different levels to develop theories. When it comes to comparative criminal justice, the focus perspective is the comparability and connectivity of criminal justice systems. The world’s criminal justice system contains four theoretical perspectives: modernization, civilization, world-system, and globalization theory. Although there are four perspectives that signify the world’s system, I will only be comparing the theories of modernization and civilizational clash and their nature.
Criminal law is a complex interaction between criminal procedures and the sanctions that are imposed on individuals for breaking the law. Legislator use a myriad of analysis tools to determine if laws are as effective as they are intended to be. The law provides a form of control over society, it is designed to steer people into obeying social norms, so that we can realize a peaceful coexistence. When an individual disrupts this peace they are dealt with, with the intent to realign the individual’s behavior with the rest of society. In this paper I will discuss and cover what has led
In the present play Vijay Tendulkar chooses a term of judicial register as the title of his play to make a powerful comment on a society with a heavy patriarchal bias that makes justice impossible and that converts the august judicial system into an instrument of oppression of women and the vulnerable. Ideally justice can be provided only if the judge and the judicial system are objectively detached. But the same objective detachment can become the face of a very repressive and dehumanized system if the persons involved in the process of justice are themselves devoid of human value and compassion.
In a democracy, free and fair elections which are held after around half a decade, guarantee social rights and equality. These elections ensure that every citizen has the right to vote, and hence they create social stability among the society. Each and every individual casting his vote in the elections reduces discrimination among the people. Citizens are not judged on the basis of religion, race, color, social status and so on. In this way, the dignity of nationals is not damaged and people can live in peace. In addition to voting rights, a democracy also assures access to other services like security, education, property rights, and healthcare facilities. These human rights maintain social equity and involv...