ROLE
OF SOCIETY IN ASSISTING VICTIMS IN RECOVERING
FINANCIAL LOSSES RESULTING FROM CRIME
Thesis: Society can play a very
constructive role in assisting the victims to
recover damages occurred from various crimes either
done intentionally or unintentionally.
Role of Society in assisting Criminals/offenders
to compensate damages
Due to modernization and globalization, societies
are now educated enough to understand their rights
and following shortcuts to compensate the damages
of the wrong done by them instead of following
a long procedure of the court for legal remedies.
For instance, if an accident occurs where the
intention was not to harm the other but it was
due to ignorance of law either state law or moral
and cultural law.
In such a case both the parties sit by themselves
and negotiate for the compensation of damages
or involves some third and neutral party to play
the role of the mediator, so the offender can
compensate the damages and make good the loss
done by paying some reasonable finance.
However, such instances are much noticed in the
community-based societies, as they are more likely
towards peace maintaining actions and avoid major
conflicting issues by negotiating with each other
in hard times.
However, this is the individual behavior of either
specific communities or certain individuals depending
upon their personality, psychology and nature.
Where keeping in mind this individual behavior,
a better substitute seems to be the best solution
to minimize the risk of unjust and delay in justice.
At times it may cost the life of a healthy and
respectable citizen of a society or damage the
professional career of the victim who is basically
not a criminal by profession but unintentionally
and due to some unnatural and unfavorable circumstances
has committed an offence.
For instance, if due to sudden shortage of doctors
who expertise in operations a doctor has held
responsible for the death of a patient due to
a late operation, this might be caused due to
lack of staff not due to the negligence of the
doctor as he was already engaged in a more urgent
and serious operation and succeeded in that. So
if there is a legal administration in every district
that only deals such medical cases, it will save
the time of all the parties involved in it.
Similarly, if an offence has committed during
some business transactions by a partner of a company
or any other working member, either intentionally
or unintentionally, either in the presence or
in the absence of the owner of the company or
some other partner of the company and injures
this person, if there is some legal committee
of the company then it will be easy to make good
the loss either by punishing the offender or by
sanctioning some financial penalty.
However, if one of the parties to a business
contract commits such actions that violates or
harms the contract, is liable to compensate the
damages. Where the only remedy for such moral
or financial loss is financial compensation that
the victim had suffer.
Society is basically a group of individuals sharing
similar or different culture, race and behavior
patterns. At the same time society can play a
very constructive role in shaping the social structure
of any state. Therefore, society should participate
in assisting the victims in recovering financial
damages occurred from crime.
However, society can help either individually
to certain individual crimes voluntarily or by
organizing non-governmental groups to assist people
for legal remedies to make good the lose, resulting
from both preplanned and unplanned crimes. In
case the society does not participate in above
regard, the entire burden to provide justice to
the people will lie on the state and its legislative
authorities.
This can result in delay to justice and at times
dark justice. Therefore, If certain groups and
organizations are formed by permission of the
higher legal authorities with in the society it
will not bring awareness among the people about
the legal and moral law but also help preventing
the increasing rate of crime while saving the
time of the victims, criminals and the government,
provided that there should be a check and balance
to prevent the misuse of legal knowledge and unjust
to the victims.
References
Weinrib, J Ernest “Punishment
and Disgorgement as Contract Remedies” Pp.
56-58 available at http://lawreview.kentlaw.edu/articles/78-1/Weinrib.pdf
accessed on 11-12-04
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