text:
Comparative law and justice/Armenia

Part of the Comparative law and justice Wikiversity Project

Mpotter14 22:19, 1 November 2010 (UTC)

Armenia is a civil law country with a population of 2,967,004. Armenia is a small country in the southeastern edge of Europe and the very western tip of Asia, slightly smaller than the state of Maryland, US, totaling 29,743 spuare km. Located in the South Caucasus, Armenia is a landlocked country just east of turkey. The climate is considered higland continental--hot summers and cold winters. The country is covered with mountains, leaving very little forest land. The lowest point of elevation is at the Debed River, 400m. The highest point of elevation is at its highest mountain Arragats Lerrnagagat, 4,090m.

Geographic Coordinates:
 * 40 00N, 45 00E

The people of Armenia are made up of 97.9% Armenians, 1.3% Yezidi (Kurd), .5% Russian, and .3% of others. Also, the relgious groupd which make up the country are 94.7% Armenian Apostolic, 4% of other varieties of Christianity, and 1.3% Yezidi--Yezidi religion is a monotheist religion with elements of nature worshipping. The languages spoken within the country are 97.7% Armenian--the official language, 1% Yezidi, 0.9% Russian, and 0.4% of others.

Age Structure:
 * -0-14 years: 18.2% (male 289,119/female 252,150)
 * -15-64 years: 71.1% (male 986,764/female 1,123,708)
 * -65 years and over: 10/6% (male 122,996/female 192,267)

History

Armenia's exquisite history dates back centuries ago to the Hayasa-Azzi people, a tribe who was predominant over Armenian land (area around Mount Ararat and present-day Turkey) from 1500 BCE to 1200 BCE. After various years of mixing with nearby cultures, the first official Armenian empire in recorded history emerged in the 9th century BCE.

The Uratu Kingdom & Tigranes the Great
This empire was known as the Uratu (or also the Kingdom of Van). The name, Uratu, is from the Assyrian word urashtu, meaning "high place" (possibly referencing the geographical features of the empire). At its height (7th century BCE), the Uratu kingdom controlled territory from the Caspian Sea (east) to the Taurus Range (south). Uratu's downfall came when many of its cities faced devastating sackings around 600 BCE. Sources of the destruction are unknown, but many years of fighting the powerful Assyrians played a major role in the downfall of the Uratu.

The next powerful kingdom to emerge was under the leadership of Tigranes the Great, who expanded the existing Armenian land all the way to Syria through ruthless warfare against neighboring kingdoms. Tigranes the Great soon found himself in control of land from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Tigranes the Great, or the self-proclaimed "king of kings", was eventually captured in 69 BCE by the Roman Republic. A few years later, Pompey the Great, a general of the Roman Republic, converted Armenia into a Roman state - which was met with heavy warfare by several leaders, with Tiridates I of Armenia triumphing above the rest. Tiridates I's Armenia lasted until 54 CE, when Roman emperor Nero successfuly captured the major Armenian cities of Artaxata and Tigranocerta.

The Romans Are Here To Stay
The Armenians were forced to surrender to the overpowering Romans and agree to the Treaty of Rhandia in 63 CE. This treaty permitted the Armenians to nominate Armenian kings to the throne, but the ultimate governance was allocated to the Romans. Emperor Vespian of the Romans annexed the kingdoms of Commagene and Lesser Armenia in 72 CE to prevent the Parthians (Persians) from encroaching their control over Armenia.

A period of peace followed for decades until Emperor Trajan declared war on the Parthian empire in 114 CE due to unreasonable fears of corruption geared towards the Parthians changing their monarchs. After this, Armenia was kept as a province of the Romanian Empire. Emperor Hadrian was tired of the troublesome behavior of Armenia, consequently granting them their freedom. Although Emperor Hadrian was done with Armenia, the rest of the Parthics and Romans disagreed as wars between the two sides ensued for control over the region.

The Persians vs. The Romanians, Byzantine Victory
The Persian Sasanids, hailing from the Sasanid dynasty (which emerged into power in 224 C), led a full-scale invasion against the Armenians in 252 CE as the Persians perceived the Armenians as a "threat to their power". The Sasanids were fighting the Romans at this point, eventually causing a major divide in the land: One side belong to the Romans, while the other side belong to the Sasanids. In 298 CE, the divided Armenia was united under Diocletian, a Roman emperor, and Tiridates IV. Tiridates IV was an effective ruler, introducing land surveys in order to figure out who should be taxed and how much should said person be taxed. His biggest accomplishment was the adoption of Christianity by 314 CE. This move may have been more to do with political reasoning than religious reasoning.

The Persians reinitiated their ruthless campaign against the Armenians again, forcing emperor Theodosius I (r. 379-395 CE) and Shapur III to dividing Armenia between the Byzantines (continuation of the Roman Empire) and the Persians. About this time (405 CE), Mesrop Mashtots further integrated Christianity into Armenian culture by translating the Bible into the Armenian alphabet.

The Persians attempted to impose the Zoroastrian religion on the Armenian common folk, which proved unsuccessful and led to a war in 451. They were forced to give more religious freedom in response to revolts from 481 CE to 484 CE. Several conflicts ensued between the Persians and the Byzantines, with the latter successively taking over Armenia under Armenian governor Varaztirotz Bagratuni in 628.

Incoming Arab Invasion & Following Centuries
With the Persians successfully defeated by the Byzantines, the Arabs saw their opportunity to engage with the Byzantines. The Arabs attempted to raid Armenia in 640 but through consistent pressure, were able to successfully capture Armenia through an agreement between Syrian governor Muʿāwiyah and Byzantine emperor Constans II Pogonatus in 653. The Arabs allowed the Armenians to autonomiously rule and appointed Theodor Rshtuni, an Armenian noble, as governor. The consistent conflicts and influence of the Byzantines on Armenia contributed to social and political revolution, making way for the Bagratuni Dynasty. The Arabs appointed Ashot Msaker, an Armenian prince from the Bagratuni family, in 800, which solidified the Bagratuni family's power over Armenia. Bagratid Armenia flourished for decades, bringing economic and cultural revival to the nation.

The following centuries proceeded with Armenia being thrown under various leaderships, including the Iranians (Sallarid Dynasty) and Turks (Seljuk Dynasty). Even religious disputes existed, with at one point the Armenians were divided between the Catholics and Apostolic (1300s).

Western Armenia (Ottomans) vs. Eastern Armenia (Persians), End of Persian Rule, Armenian Genocide
In the mid-1500s, Armenia was separated into two halves: Western Armenia was under the leadership of the Ottomans (prominent Turkish empire) while Eastern Armenia was under the Safavid Persians after the Peace of Amasaya. In the early 1600s, Shah Abbas I of the Persians broke the peace and revolted against the Ottomans. The patient and skillful works of Shah Abbas I saw him take control of most of the land that the Turks took away (in defense) from the Persians. Another Ottoman-Safavid War took place from 1623 to 1639, handing Eastern Armenia over to the Safavids while Western Armenia remained under Ottoman control. Eastern Armenia, mostly all of modern-day Armenia, was eventually lost to the Persians and handed over to the invading Russians, who scorched the Persians in the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813; 1826-1828). The 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay forced the remaining Persian land to be under Russian territory, effectively ending the Persian-Armenian era. The Ottomans soon ruled over the Armenians, leading to the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

The Armenian Genocide of 1915 was a systematic massacre of the Armenian population from Anatolia (a large peninsula that is modern-day Turkey) and other regions ruled by the Ottomans during World War I. The Ottomans were attempting to unify the Muslim presence in the Armenian regions and viewed the Christian Armenian population as an "obstacle" to this achievement. Over a million Armenian Christians were killed in this atrocity.

Soviet Armenia & The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
The Ottomans lost World War I in 1918 & collapsed just a few years afterwards, thereby eliminating Turkish control of Armenia. Armenia experienced independence for a brief time as the First Republic of Armenia (1918-1920), but was ended by a 1920 Red Army (Soviet Union) invasion & vicious attempts to regain control over Armenia by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's Turkey.

Several treaties, including the Treaty of Kars, were declared between Turkey and the Soviet Union. The 1921 Treaty of Kars set boundaries between Turkey and the Soviet Union, where the latter firmly cemented their political ideology of communism over the remaining Armenian land. Armenia became a part of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR), a league of Soviet Union republics including neighboring Azerbaijan and Georgia. In 1936, the TSFSR ended due to changes in the Soviet's constitution and Armenia became a full republic. The entire time of Soviet rule (until 1990), Armenia was transformed from a heavily agricultural society to a leading land of industrialism & intellect. From 1988 - 1994, the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a self-goverened Soviet Union province (known as an "oblast") within modern-day Azerbaijan, was the setting of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War between the Azerbaijani military and the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh, geographically pictured on the left, was established in 1923 by the Soviet Union. In 1988, the autonomous oblast voted on joining the Republic of Armenia - resulting in wide-scale war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In 1994, the Russians declared a ceasfire that allowed Nagorno-Karabkah to operate as a "de-facto" government but still heavily relying on Armenia economically and militaristically. As a result of the two countries not being able to establish a peaceful resolution, Armenia's economy has been severely hurt. Consequently, Turkey closed its common border with Armenia in 1994 which added to the Armenia's economic struggle. However, in 2009 Armenian leaders decided to pursue rapprochment with Turkey which may lead the re-opening of the common border.

Present Day
In 1990, Armenia seceded the Soviet Union and became an independent country. The following year, Armenia was voted to become a Republic (an elected president leads the nation, rather than a monarch). Other countries started to recognize Armenia as an independent country and begun diplomatic relations with it.

Tensions still remain high between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh oblast.

Economic Development
Industries:

Armenia's exports contribute 714 million dollars (U.S. dollars). The countries main exporting commodities are pig iron, unwrought copper, nonferrous metals, diamonds, mineral products, foodstuffs, and energy. It's trade partners of exports consist of--in order of highest percentage of trade--Germany, Russia, the U.S., Bulgaria, Georgia, Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada. Armenia's imports total 2.72 billion dollars; its main importing commodities are natural gas, petroleum, tobacco products, foodstuffs, and diamonds. The countries main partners for imports consist of--also highest percent to lowest--Russia, China, Ukraine, Turkey, Germany, and Iran.

Health
Infant Mortality Rate:

Life Expectancy at Birth:

Education
In Armenia children are expected to attend school, the expectancy life for school is 11 years for the males and 12 years for the females. The literacy rate within the country is 99.7% for males and 99.2% for females.

Governance
Armenia is a democratic country, who's state power is administered by their Constitution and laws based on the principle of seperation of its three powers of government. The government of Armenia consists of a president as well as three powers of government; executive, legislative, and judicial. In addition, the country is seperated into eleven different sections/regions calleds marzes, including their capital Yerevan which is considered its own marz. Each marz has its own govenor--who are appointed and dismissed by government decrees, such governement decrees can be ratified by the President. Each govenor implements regional policy in the following areas--finance, urban development, housing and utilities, transport and road construction, agriculture and land use, education, health care, social security, culture and sports, nature and environmental protection, commerce, public catering, and services. The marz's govenor coordinates with the executive authorities in the areas of--international affairs and national security, defense, communication, energy, taxes, emergency situations, civil defense, and others. Armenia's state government is seperated into three powers with a president not considered part of either. The President is the head of state, responsible for ensuring adherense to the constitution, and guarunteeing soverignity, and territiorial integration and security. The President is elected by the citizens of Armenia for a five year term. The Executive Power consists of a Prime Minister who is nominated by parlimentary majority and appointed by the president; as well as ministries of-- Territorial Administration (also the Vice Prime Minister), culture, the Diaspora, education and science, energy and natural resources, foriegn affairs, justice, nature protection, transport and communication, agriculture, defense, economy, emergency situations, finance, healthcare, labor and social affairs, sport and youth affairs, and urban development. The President appoints and discharges members of the ministries on the Prime Minister's proposal. The Legislative Power is made up of a single chambered National Assembly, which is made up of one hundred thirty one deputies; seventy five of these deputies are represented proportionally, fifty six are represented in majority. Citizens elect the deputies from their region for five year terms. The Judicial Power, is made up of the first instance court of general jurisdiction, coutrs of appeal, the court of Cassation, which ensures uniformity in the implementation of the law, as well the Constitutional court which administers constitutional justice. The Constitution and the law define the procedure for the formation and the activites of the judicial power.

Office Holding Qualifications
Presidential Qualifications: atleast thirty five years old, a citizen preceding ten years, a permenant resident preceding ten years, and the person running must still have their right to vote, if their right to vote has been revoked they are not eligable to hold office

National Assembly Qualifications: atleast twenty five years in age, residency preceding five years, must also have their right to vote

Law Making Process
The law making process in Armenia is explained in their constitution, articles 111 and 112-

Article 111

 * The Constitution shall be adopted or amended by referendum, which may be initiated by the President of the Republic or the National Assembly.

 * The President of the Republic shall call a referendum upon the request or agreement of the National Assembly. For such a decision of the National Assembly is required the majority votes of the total number of the Deputies.

 * The President of the Republic may remand the Draft Constitution or the draft of constitutional amendments, within twenty one days following their submission back to the National Assembly, with his or her objections and suggestions, requesting a reexamination.

 * The President of the Republic will submit to a referendum within the period prescribed by the National Assembly a draft Constitution or draft constitutional amendments, when they are reintroduced by at least two thirds of the total number of Deputies of the National Assembly.

 * If the initiative belongs to the President of the Republic, the National Assembly shall within a three-month period following the receipt of the draft of the Constitution or amendments thereof put the motion on holding a referendum on the draft to the vote. If the majority of the total number of the deputies of the National Assembly vote for the draft, the latter shall be deemed adopted and the President of the Republic shall submit the draft to a referendum on the date set up by himself/herself.

Article 112

 * Laws may be submitted to a referendum upon the request of the National Assembly or the Government in accordance with Article 111 of the Constitution.

 * Laws passed by referendum may only be amended by referendum.

Elections
Elections in Armenia are conducted as a Secret Ballot system where privacy in voting is both a right and responsibility of the voter, voting by proxy is prohibited. Voting in Armenia is only permitted in it's territory. To be eligible to vote, one must be an eighteen year old citizen, voting is not required, it is voluntary.

Judicial Review
Judicial Review is the job of Armenia's Constitutional Court, which plays a role like the United States' Surpeme Court; they are responsible for administering constitutional justice.

Courts and Criminal Law
First Instance Courts of General Jurisdiction- Jurisdiction over civil, criminal, military, and administrative cases, detentions, search warrants, and privacy of communication

Courts of Appeal (two seperate)- first: Court of civil appeals, second: Court of criminal and military appeals

Court of Cassation- highest judicial instance in RA (besides the Council of Justice), provides the universal application of law and correct interpretations of law

The Council of Justice- an independent body made up of nine judges, elected by the General Assembly of judges for a term of five years. The Council of Justice has several jobs including, forming and submitting a list of candidates for new judges and lists of promotions for judges, proposes candidates for chairmen and judges for the Court of Cassation, Courts of Appeal, Fisrt Intance, and other specialized coutrs (ex. economic court), by request from the president the Council of Justice expresses opinions on the issue of pardon, and it imposes disiplinary liability on judges.

Punishment
In Armenia, corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime According the armenian criminal code, "The persons who committed a crime are equal before the law and are subject to criminal liability regardless of sex, race, color, language, religion, political or other beliefs, national or social origin, ethnic minority identity, birth, property, or other statuses." In addition the countries criminal code also states that they do not descriminate against criminals based on sex, race, color, language, religion, political or other beliefs, national or social origin, ethinic minority identity, birth, property, or any other status. Punishments within the country are sentence with consideration of the accused as well as the accused crime, "the punishment and other legal and penal measures applied to the person who committed an offence must be fair, appropriate to the gravity of the crime, to the circumstances in which it was committed, to the personality of the criminal; they must be necessary and sufficient to correct the criminal and to prevent new offences." Article 19 in the countries criminal code explains the different types of crimes as well as how they are punishable. The article states that the degree of crimes are categorized as not very grave, medium gravity, grave, and particularly grave. Not very grave crimes are considered those which require a maximum of 2 years of prison, or for a crime in which the punishment doesn't require imprisonment, or lastly a crime "committed through negligence," in which the punishment would not be more than 3 years of imprisonment. Medium gravity crimes are classified as crimes which don't consist of a punishment more than 5 years of imprisonment, and crimes committed through neglagence with a punishment no more than 10 years of imprisonment. Grave crimes are crimes in which the punishment does not exceed more than 10 years of imprisonment. Lastly particularly grave crimes are those in which the punishment is more than 10 years or life of imprisonment. Article 49 in Armenia's criminal code states the types of punishment which they practice, including fines, public worsk, deprivation of special titles such as military ranks, confiscation of property, correctional labor, arrest, service in a disciplinary battalion, and imprisonment. Article 86 explains the type of punishments for minors including, fines, public work, arrest, and imprisonment.

According to article 104 of the countries criminal code, "murder is illegal willful deprivation of one’s life punished with imprisonment for 6 to 12 years." According to article 138, "Rape, sexual intercourse of a man with a woman against her will, using violence against the latter or some other person, with threat thereof, or taking advantage of the woman’s helpless situation, is punished with imprisonment for the term of 3 to 6 years."

Law Enforcement
Republic of Armenia Police (RA Police)

According to the types of police structures from Reichel's Comparative Criminal Justice Systems on page 194, the Armenian police structure would be considered single centralized, they have one national police force which is responsible for enforcing one set of laws throughout the country. The RA Police are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, meaning their law enforcement and military powers are linked. The commander of the Interior troops is also named the ex-officio deputy chief of police. . The RA Police is made up of a central headquarters with one Chief of Police, one first deputy, and several deputies; all of which are appointed by the President. There are eleven Police Departments throughout the country, one for each of its marzes as well as one in its capital Yerevan, along with fifty two precincs, and several specialized diectories. The rankings of police officers in Armenia begins at the lowest rank with soldiers, followed by police soldiers, junior officer personnel, police middle/secondary officer personnel, senior officer personnel, and finally supreme officer personnel. The qualifications for RA Police is to graduate from a five year training program at The Police Academy.

Corruption
There is very little information for Armenia and their level of corruption, however in 1999 the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index ranked Armenia at a 2.1 on a 10 point scale (0=very corrupted, 10=no corruption) also ranking the country 76th out of 99, inferring that there is a high level of corruption in the country.

Public Opinion--

"Most Armenians are still sceptical about the government's commitment to fight corruption. Only 22% of respondents of the phone survey conducted by CRD/TI Armenia in February 2004 believed that the adoption of a government anti-corruption strategy demonstrated political will to combat corruption."

Crime Rates and Public Opinion
It must be noted, that the crime rates in foreign countries are difficult to track for many reasons. Culturally, values on violence and crime range from culture to culture as well as throughout religions. There are also economic difficulties to take into consideration when trying to track crime; economic inequality, labor market conditions, and education levels can have a large impact on crime rates. In addition to culturally and economically, a cultures structural factors must also be considered when tracking crime. A countries laws on violence and punishment, along with government corruption will definitely have an effect on its crime rates. These along with measurement errors such as a societies ability to organize data, or even a societies definition of crime, must be considered when tracking and comparing a countries crime rates.

According to the OSAC 2010 Armenia Crime and Safety Report, crime in Armenia is pretty much average compared to the amount of crime that one wold find in a large American city. However, in 2009 there was a recorded 71.3% increase in crime in Armenia, which may be the result of an increase in reporting of crime. The most common crimes reported to the American Embassy in 2009 were relatively minor, including pick-pocketing, vehicle break-ins, purse snatchings, and cell phone theft. In 1994, the homicide rate was 5.4 per 100,000, compared to 2.8 for assaults, 0.6 for rapes, and 2.9 for robberies. The rate of theft was 47.9 per 100,000. Drug trafficking is increasing significantly in Armenia. Armenia is an illicit cultivator of marijuana, mostly for domestic consumption however, it is increasingly used as a transshipment point for illicit drugs, more specifically opium and hashish; to Western Europe and the US via Iran, Central Asia, and Russia. In 2008 the homicide rate in Armenia was only 2.5 which is significantly better than it was in 1994. The source of this data is the Armenian Police, and the United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (UN-CTS).

Marriage/Divorce
Armenian women have a fairly high degree of equality within the family. Family law states that the for marriage for women is seventeen while for men it is 18. However, in select cases the marriage age can be lowered to sixteen for both men and women. "A Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) conducted in 2005 showed that 17 per cent of women aged 18 were married, divorced or widowed. In a 2004 United Nations report, this figure was reported to be 9 per cent for girls between 15 and 19 years of age." Marriage must be consented by both parties, and recorded with a registration. "Registration is automatic in the case of civil weddings, but many couples marry in the church without registering."

The marriage law states equality between both spouses in all areas of family, which includes parental authority. The law states two different procedures for parental authority in divorce. If tehre are any children and they are of the age of majority and there is no dispute over property, couples can divorce by mutual consent. If this is not the case, the case is brought before the court. The court awards custody acorrding to the child's best interest. According to cultural traditions, the courts often apply a period of reconciliation. "The Family Code states that assets belonging to the divorcing parties should be divided equally. In many cases, the regulation is not applied, either because the marriage was not recorded by a registrar or because the woman signed a prenuptial agreement forfeiting her right to the application of the law. It should be noted that Armenian tradition is generally hostile to divorce. As a result, many women remain married even though they may be subjected to conflict or domestic violence."

Inheritance
Women also have equal inheritance rights as men however, it is much more difficult for them to record property titles for their inherited land.

Human Rights
The constitution of the Republic of Armenia's articles 40-47 express the fundamental civil and human rights that are protected in the country. Article 40 state that every citizen in the country has the right to freedom of literacy, aesthetic, science and technology creation, use scientific advancement, and participate in society. Article 41 states that every citizen "shall have the right to preserve his or her national and ethnic identity," minorites have the right to "preservation and development of their traditions, religion, language and culture." Article 42 articulates that the rights and freedoms expressed in the constitution will not exclude rights and freedoms prescribed by law. Also, "everyone shall have the right to act in a way not prohibited by the law and not violating others’ rights and freedoms. No one shall bear obligations not stipulated by the law... The laws and other legal acts exacerbating the legal status of an individual shall not be retroactive. The legal acts improving the legal status of an individual, eliminating or mitigating his/her liability shall be retroactive if prescribed by the acts in question. Article 42.1 says, "the fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms shall apply to legal persons to the extent these fundamental rights and freedoms are applicable to them." Article 43 states, "the fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms set forth in Articles 23-25, 27, 28-30, 30.1, Part 3 of Article 32 may be temporarily restricted only by the law if it is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public order, crime prevention, protection of public health and morality, constitutional rights and freedoms, as well as honor and reputation of others...Limitations on fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms may not exceed the scope defined by the international commitments assumed by the Republic of Armenia. Article 44, "special categories of fundamental human and civil rights, except for those stipulated in Articles 15, 17-22 and 42 of the Constitution may be temporarily restricted as prescribed by the law in case of martial law or state of emergency within the scope of the assumed international commitments on deviating from commitments in cases of emergency." Article 45, "everyone shall be obliged to pay taxes, duties and other compulsory fees in conformity with the procedure prescribed by the law." Article 46, "every citizen shall be obliged to take part in the defense of the Republic of Armenia in conformity with the procedure prescribed by the law." Article 47, "Everyone shall be obliged to honor the Constitutions and laws, to respect the rights, freedoms and dignity of others...The exercise of the rights and freedoms with the purpose of overthrow of the constitutional order, incitement to national, racial and religious hatred, propaganda of violence or warfare shall be prohibited."

title: Comparative law and justice/Armenia


text:
Comparative law and justice/The Bahamas

Part of the Comparative law and justice Wikiversity Project

Mbarrows 17:02, 16 September 2010 (UTC)

Basic Information
Population: 307,552

Geographical Information

The Bahamas are located in the Caribbean. They are a chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba. It has a total landmass of 13,880 square kilometers. It is slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut. It has a tropical marine climate.

Religion

The population is overwhelmingly Christian, with Baptists comprising about 32%. About 20% of the population are Anglicans and about 24% belong to other Protestants groups such as the Methodists (6%), the Church of God (6%), the Presbyterians, Seventh-Day Adventists, and members of the Salvation Army. About 19% of the population are Roman Catholics. There is also a strong Greek Orthodox community. Smaller groups include Jews, Baha'is, Muslims, Hindus, and Rastafarians. More traditional practices related to witchcraft and known to scholars as voodoo or obeah continue to be observed in some areas.

The People

Eighty-five percent of the Bahamian population is of African heritage. About two-thirds of the population resides on New Providence Island (the location of Nassau). Many ancestors arrived in The Bahamas when the islands served as a staging area for the slave trade in the early 1800s. Others accompanied thousands of British loyalists who fled the American colonies during the Revolutionary War.

Haitians form the largest immigrant community in The Bahamas. 30,000-50,000 are estimated to be resident legally or illegally, concentrated on New Providence, Abaco, and Eleuthera islands. The official language of the Island is English in which the majority of the people speak with Creole being its second language.

Brief History
Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. The British began settling in the islands in 1647. The islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US and Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.

Economic Development, Health, and Education

GDP (2009 est., official exchange rate): $7.376 billion (current); $6.717 billion (constant).

Growth rate (2009 est.): 0.93% (current); -4.29% (constant).

Per capita GDP (2008 est.): $19,619 (constant).

Government spending (current expenditure only, 2009): 16.8% of GDP.

Natural resources: Salt, aragonite, timber, arable land.

Tourism (2004, including tourism-driven construction and manufacturing): 48% of GDP.

Financial services: 7.8% of GDP.

Business services and real estate: 28.8% of GDP.

Construction (2009; 5.6% of GDP): Products--largely tourism-related.

Manufacturing (2008; 3.0% of GDP): Products--plastics, pharmaceuticals, rum.

Agriculture and fisheries (2009; 1.5% of GDP): Products--fruits, vegetables, lobster, fish. Trade (2008):

Exports ($410 million)--mineral products and salt, rum, animal products, chemicals, fruits, and vegetables. Export partners (2007)--U.S. (71%), Canada (5.7%), Netherlands (5.6%), France (4.9%), Germany (2.4%), U.K. (1.5%), South Africa (1.5%), China (1.5%).

Imports ($3.2 billion)--foodstuffs and animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels. Import partners (2007)--U.S. (87.0%), Curacao (2.8%), Venezuela (2.1%), Puerto Rico (1.4%), Japan (1.1%).

Age and Gender Breakdown:

0-14 years: 25.3% (male 39,493/female 38,355) 15-64 years: 68.7% (male 103,889/female 107,528) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 6,998/female 11,289) (2010 est.)

Median Age: total: 29.9 years male: 28.8 years female: 31 years (2010 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 14.84 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 128 male: 14.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)

Life Expectancy

total population: 69.92 years country comparison to the world: 146 male: 67.48 years female: 72.43 years (2010 est.)

Literacy Rate

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.)

Governance
The type of Government that The Bahamas has is a Constitutional parliamentary democracy. They are like us and have 3 branches of Government which are Executive, Legislative and Judicial. They also use common law for their courts which is what is used in the United States and would lead towards and adversarial system. The head of the Executive branch is Queen Elizabeth II who is the head of state. The governor general who is a representative of Queen Elizabeth II is General Sir Arthur A. Foulkes, a prime minister who heads the government who is Prime Minister Hubert A. Ingraham and the cabinet. The Legislative Branch is a bicameral Parliament which consists of a 41-member elected House of Assembly and a 16-member appointed Senate. The Judicial Branch Consists of a Privy Council in the U.K., a Court of Appeal, Supreme Court, and magistrates' courts. The Bahamas attained internal self-government in 1964 and full independence within the Commonwealth on July 10, 1973.

The Parliament is mandated by Article 52(l) of the Constitution to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Bahamas. The Constitution authorizes Parliament to make laws by passing Bills.

Elections
The monarchy is hereditary and the governor general is appointed by the monarch. Once the legislative elections are complete, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general.

Legislative Branch

The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate which consists of 16 seats. The members are appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader to serve five-year terms. The House of Assembly which consists of 41 seats are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms. The government may dissolve the parliament and call elections at any time.

VOTING

The Bahamas has had a voting system in place since 1729. The requirements used to be that you had to own land and you had to be a male. It was not until the year of 1962 when women had the right to vote. The electoral system is based on "first past the post". The requirements to vote now are that you must be 18, meet a residency requirement of at least Three months in a Constituency and are not subject to any legal incapacity.

Judicial Review
The Bahamas' legal system is similar to the one of that in the United States, therefore, they use Judicial review under the same idea as the United States. Judicial review is an example of the separation of powers that the branches of government have. Judicial review is "the power of courts of law to review the actions of the executive and legislative branches"

Punishment
The sanctions for punishment are as follows: Anyone that commits a felony and punishment is not specified the accused can be held liable to server 7 years in jail. When the crime committed is a misdemeanor and there is no punishment specified, the accused is liable to serve up to 2 years in jail. When a person is accused of a summary offense and prison is recommended the sentence may be lowered and they may be liable for a fine not to exceed $500. The penalty for murder is death or life in prison. The crime of treason is also punishable by death or life in jail. The crime of assault is a misdemeanor and the crime of aggravated assault is punishable by up to 3 years in jail. The punishment for theft is a $500 fine and/or up to 3 months in jail.

The Bahamas does use Corporal punishment in certain settings. It is allowed in the home by the parents and in schools by the teachers. It is however not lawful as a punishment in the penal system. It was at one time lawful. The punishment was only allowed on men. If a woman was to commit a crime that would have been punished by corporal punishment they would be sentenced to serve time in solitary confinement. Corporal punishment was banned in 1984 and reintroduced in 1991. The government tried to reinstate it in 2002 and 2005 but to no avail. The way corporal punishment was administered was as follows: They used the cat-o-nine tails and that was applied to the bare back; The tamarind rod was applied to the bare buttocks. It would depend on the crime on which one of those would be used and if it was going to be used in installments. That information was unavailable.

The death penalty information was also scarce. The death penalty used to be legal and it used to be mandatory for anyone convicted of murder. The death penalty was in the form of hanging.

The rate of imprisonment in The Bahamas is 478 to every 100,000 people. It is the 8th highest in the world. There is one prison on the island and the conditions are less than perfect. There were at least 78 people that had been detained for 2 years while awaiting trial. There are high rates of TB, AIDS and HIV with little to no access of medical care and drugs. The prison is severely over crowded with up to 3 people in a 1 meter by 3 meter cell. There is inadequate drainage and plumbing and prisoners are using buckets to wash in a go to the bathroom in.

Legal Personnel
The basis of the judicial system in The Bahamas is British Common Law. Since it is a Common law country each side of a court case has a lawyer and there is a judge that presides. The judiciary is independent and judges are appointed by the executive branch with the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission. There are at least 600 lawyers that are eligible to practice law in The Bahamas. The way in which a person becomes a lawyer in The Bahamas is as follows; They must have a call to the Bar of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Eire, or of such other country as may be specified, be admitted to practice as a solicitor in any of the above countries; or obtain receipt of a Legal Education Certificate from the Council of Legal Education of the West Indies. Once they meet any of the above requirements they must then serve 12 months under a lawyer already in practice before they can practice alone. Another requirement is that they must be Bahamian and must not have been disqualified or suspended from the courts in any place outside The Bahamas.

Criminal defendants have the right to an attorney, but government appointed counsel is provided only in capital cases. There is also a right to be brought before a magistrate within 48 hours, a right to bail, a presumption of innocence, and a right to appeal. It is unknown whether the accused has to speak at trial. A jury trial is rare as they are only available for Supreme Court Cases.

The Bahamas does not award punitive damages easily, in fact, there are no known cases of them being recovered. The courts may award them, but, only in extreme circumstances.

There are several courts in The Bahamian legal system and they are ranked from where a case is started to where they could end up. It starts with the Magistrates' Court. This court has jurisdiction to try all summary offenses, investigate all charges of indictable offenses and to hear and determine any civil matter where the amount to be recovered or the value of the property in dispute does not exceed $5,000.00. This court will also deal with some juvenile and domestic matters. The next level is The Industrial Tribunal. This court has the ability to hear cases that deal with trade disputes, register industrial agreements, hear and determine matters relating to the registration of such agreements, make orders or awards and award compensation on complaints brought and proved before the Tribunal. The next court in the hierarchy is the Supreme Court. This is the second highest court in the country. The Supreme Court has unlimited original jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases and matters and an appellate jurisdiction conferred on it by the Supreme Court Act, 1996 or any other law, which includes appeals from the Magistrates’s Court. The next level of courts is the appeals court. The Court of Appeal also has jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals from matters in the lower courts. The reasons a case can be appealed are as follows: the court had no jurisdiction or exceeded its jurisdiction in the matter; the decision was unreasonable, could not be supported by the evidence or was erroneous in point of law; the decision of the magistrate or the sentence passed was based on a wrong principle; some material illegality occurred affecting the merits of the case; or the sentence was too severe or lenient. The last and final court in the hierarchy is the Privy Council. It is considered the ultimate court of appeals in all cases where an appeal is allowed.

Law Enforcement
The Law enforcement system in The Bahamas can be classified as a multiple coordinated centralized force. The force in The Bahamas is known as The Royal Bahamas Police Force.

"The Royal Bahamas Police Force is comprised of a variety of divisions and special branches throughout New Providence, Grand Bahama and the Family Islands. These branches are commonly referred to as uniform divisions and special branches. The island of New Providence is served by 10 policing divisions and Grand Bahama is divided into 4 Divisions: Western, Eastern, Eight Mile Rock and Central.The Family Island District covers over 14 major islands most of which have several stations and sub-stations. Special Divisions include Prosecutions, Traffic, Mobile, Harbour Patrol, Internal Security, K-9, Air Wing and Force Garage. In addition to these divisions are the Crime and Intelligence Sections that includes departments such as the Drug Enforcement Unit, Criminal Records Office, Interpol, Serious Crimes Unit and a cadre of others".

The hierarchy is as follows; There is a Commissioner of police at the top of the chain. He has a Deputy Inspector directly underneath him and also a Senior Assistant Commissioner. Those are the two that work most closely with him. He also supervises four Assistant Commissioners that are in charge of various sections and departments.

The training and selection process is very similar to what is used in the United States. The Basic requirements are as follows; be a Bahamian citizen, have good moral character with no criminal record, be between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, have good academic qualifications, meet their medical standards and be a successful candidate on the extended interview exercise. The firs two steps of the process are very similar to ours. There is an application that needs to be filled out followed by the entrance exam. If a candidate passes that exam they move onto the extended interview. The extended interview happens over the course of a few days and consists of a physical fitness test, a psychological test, a written test, an oral interview and a short speech and verbal discussion group. If all that is successfully completed a medical exam and background investigation will be completed. Once those are successfully completed the candidate will be contacted by a member of the force for appointment and confirmation to begin training. The training program is a 24 week live in program where cadets will be instructed on how to become a successful police officer with hands on and classroom training.

The military in the Bahamas is known as The Royal Bahamas Defence Force. They are not a law enforcement agency, but, under the Defence act, the Defence force is allowed to assist local law enforcement in their duties if deemed necessary. This force is the only force charged with the responsibility of protecting The Bahamas.

The orientation of the police force is nothing new. It has been around since 1840 and works with the public and visitors to keep the peace and ensure public safety.

Crime Rates and Public Opinion
The Bahamas is a highly populated tourist site. There is no surprise that tourists make easy targets for crime. It is unfortunate that such a popular tourist destination has a high crime rate especially on New Providence Island. The crimes reported are what would be expected from a tourist destination such as pickpocketing and theft.

The Homicide rate is unknown but the most recent information from "2007 says that there were 79 homicides that year".

The rates of crimes like theft and sexual assault are unknown but the 2007 United Nations report on Crime stated there was a spike in these particular crimes. They were in a wide variety of places like casinos, resorts and even on cruise ships. The victims were usually drugged in those cases. New Providence Island is where most of the crime occurs but crime does also occur on the other islands. The most common crimes are burglaries and theft. Those incidents usually occur on boats and include the boat engine itself. The public opinion on crime is unknown however there justice system is somewhat different from ours. It is possible that if a U.S. citizen is arrested in the Bahamas they can go through their legal system. "Persons violating Bahamian laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, or imprisoned."

The legal system is based on English Common Law.

Family Law
MARRIAGE

Marriage in The Bahamas is similar to marriage in the United States. The law was not specific as to whether gay marriage was legal or not but in the case of a marriage between a man and a woman they need to be 18 or older. If they are under 18 they need to consent of a parent to get married. The two parties involved must apply for a marriage license in order to get married. The license is valid for three months and if it expires they have to go through the application process over again.

DIVORCE

There are several grounds for divorce in The Bahamas. The grounds can be brought by either the man or the woman and they are: they have committed adultery; treated the petitioner with cruelty; deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition; lived separate and apart from the petitioner for a continuous period of at least five years immediately preceding the presentation of the petitioner; or has, since the start of the marriage been guilty of a homosexual act, sodomy or has had sexual relations with an animal. A wife has grounds to petition for divorce if her husband has committed rape upon her. Once a petition has been filed, it is up to the court to hear the facts of the case and determine the outcome. If the court believes there is an opportunity for reconciliation then they will suspend the hearings for a period of time to allow the couple time to try and fix their marriage.

ADOPTION

The Bahamas does have adoptions. There are age and marriage requirements that must be met in order to adopt. There are no residency requirements. The person adopting must be 25 years of age and at least 21 years older than the child they are adopting unless it is a relative. If it is a relative that is adopting, they must be at least 18 years of age. The marriage requirement is very lax. They do allow singles to adopt as well as married couples. There are also requirements that the child must meet in order to get adopted. They must be orphaned and/or abandoned. There is a process in the court that will determine if the child meets this requirement by doing everything in their power to satisfy that the parents cannot be found or that one or both of them are deceased. The child itself must be at least 6 weeks of age in order to be eligible for adoption.

INHERITANCES

The process to obtain an inheritance in The Bahamas is a process that is handled in the courts. The people eligible to apply for the estate are the husband/wife of the deceased, a child of the deceased, any person who is not a child that through marriage where the deceased was at any time involved was treated as a child of the family. They may apply for reasonable financial provision which means they may apply for money that would help them maintain and support themselves.

CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS OF WOMEN

"Any woman who on 9th July 1973 is or has been married to a person who subsequently becomes a citizen of The Bahamas by registration under paragraph (2) of this Article shall be entitled, upon making application and upon taking the oath of allegiance or such declaration as may be prescribed, to be registered as a citizen of The Bahamas"

Social Inequality
The Bahamas does have a problem with discrimination. The 2008 and 2009 Reports from Amnesty International report that there is a problem discrimination against Haitian Immigrants living there. There have also been some issues with Cuban Immigrants as well. In 2008 authorities continued to deport migrants, the vast majority of them being Haitians. There were some of them that were reportedly ill-treated. During 2008, 6,996 migrants were reported to have been deported. A large number of them, 6,004, were Haitian nationals. There are also reports of them being treated poorly while being housed at the Carmichael Detention Center, which is where foreign nationals that have been accused of violation immigration laws reside.

Human Rights
The Bahamas does have an extensive protection of fundamental human rights. These rights are as listed:

1. Protection of right to life 2. Protection of inhumane treatment 3. Protection from slavery and forced labor 4. Protection from arbitrary arrest and detention 5. Protection for privacy of home and other property 6. Protection of freedom of conscience 7. Protection of freedom of expression 8. Protection of freedom of assembly and association 9. Protection of freedom of movement 10. Protection of discrimination on the grounds of race, etc... 11. Protection from deprivation of property

The majority of these are a reality, however, a couple of them are not. The Bahamas has illegally detained immigrants, this violates number 4. The jails in the country have been known to have less than perfect conditions so therefore that violates number 2. These are only two issues but they are very important issues that need to be addressed.

All information listed in the list has also been obtained from the cited website in this section.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Comparative law and justice/The Bahamas


text:
Comparative law and justice/Dominica

Part of the Comparative law and justice Wikiversity Project

Ahunt 4174 17:30, 16 September 2010 (UTC)

Basic Information
Dominica, also known as the Commonwealth of Dominica, sits midway along the Eastern Caribbean archipelago, just a few miles from Martinique to the south and Guadeloupe to the north. The island's official name is the Commonwealth of Dominica because it enables the island to be distinguished from its Caribbean sister, the Dominican Republic. The Caribbean indians named the island Waitukubuli, which means "tall is her body" in the Caribbean language. The island is populated with around 70,000 people, with a portion of the population living in or around the capital city, Roseau. Tropical forest coats two thirds of the island, which nourishes 1,200 plant species. Rivers, lakes, streams, and waterfalls abound, fed by the islands high annual rainfall. The island was discovered by Columbus on Sunday, November 3, 1493. Dominica in Latin means "Sunday" which refers to the day it was discovered. Before Columbus discovered Dominica, Arawak Indians lived there, until the militant Indians (Caribs) forced them to move. The Caribs still live in Dominica and are the last natives of the Caribbean Islands. Dominica has a very nice climate, even during the cold months from December to March. Summer temperatures reach an average high of 90 degrees, and winter temperatures range from 84 degrees to 86 degrees. The dry season in Dominica is from February to May, and the rainy season if from June to October, which is when hurricanes are most likely to occur. Average coastal rainfall in Dominica ranges from 60 inches to 145 inches, but in the mountains average rainfall can range up to 250 inches. Dominica's national motto is Apres Bondie C'est La Ter, which means "After God, it is the Land." This meaning focuses on the country's French-creole heritage, their strong religious beliefs, and their dependence on their soil for the economy. Their national flag as a Sisserou parrot on it, which can only be found in Dominica. The colors and designs on the flag each have their own meaning such as: the ten green stars which represent the parish of the country, and the green background on the flag represents the rainforests. The three-colored cross symbolizes the Trinity of God; yellow represent the agricultural part of Dominica such as bananas and citrus, white represents the clarity of its rivers and waterfalls, and black represents the soil and the African heritage. The religion that takes up over seventy percent of the population is Roman Catholic. None of the Protestant religions take up more than five percent of the population. Carib and West African beliefs are in spirits and witchcraft, even though it is looked down upon by the church.

Brief History
Columbus discovered The Commonwealth of Dominica (Dominica) on a sunday in November of 1493. During this time the island was populated with the Caribs from South America who were driving out the Arawaks. In 1627 the English took control of Domnica, but by 1632 the island had became a French colony. it remained a French colony until 1759, when the English gained control of it. Dominica had been in control until the French then went back under control of England in 1783. The French made two attempts to invade Dominica, once in 1795 and once in 1805; but gave up and let it be under British control. Dominica became part of the Federation of the Leeward Islands Colony from 1871 to 1939, then became a unit of the Windward Islands group from 1940 to 1960. Dominica joined the West Indies Federation at its foundation in 1958 and remained a member until 1962. Edward LeBlanc became chief minister in 1961, and under his leadership, in 1967 Dominica became one of the West Indies Associated States, with full internal self-government. On 3 November 1978, Dominica achieved independence as a republic within the Commonwealth, and took the name of Commonwealth of Dominica On November 3, 1978. The Commonwealth of Dominica was granted independence by the United Kingdom. Independence did not help many economic problems, which led to an interim government. This government was replaced in the 1980 elections led by the Dominica Freedom Party under Prime Minister Eugenia Charles, the Caribbean's first female Prime Minister.

Economic Development, Health, and Education
Economic Development

The economy is dependent on agriculture, which makes the country extremely reliable on climate conditions. Agriculture accounts for 20% of gross domestic product and employs 40% of labor force. In the early 2000's, unemployment was high, and output was in decline, partly due to weak export in bananas, and to weak growth of tourism. The economy is largely based on agricultural exports including bananas, citrus and tropical fruits, coffee, oil, and copra. Tourism also plays a large factor in improving the economy. Since rates of poverty are increasing in Dominica, it is reflecting on the decline of the banana production. In Dominica, twenty-nine percent of households and forty percent of the general population live in poverty. Also, eleven percent of households and fifteen percent of the general population live in indigent poverty. "More than thirty-seven percent of households in Dominica do not have access to piped water, and twenty-five percent of households have no access to toilet facilities." The rate of unemployment is increasing greatly, especially for poor households at forty percent, compared to non-poor households at sixty percent. Dominica has rich volcanic soil which is great for growing fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are typically sold by street vendors at the market, but most people grow them on their own. Land crabs, crayfish, agouti and fish are caught where they can be found, and raised livestock include goats, pigs, and cows. Imported frozen goods such as chicken and turkey have become recently popular, along with tinned milk and sausage, and packed snacks. Flour sugar, salt and rice are purchased in town or can be found at village shops. There are many American-like markets in the capital, Roseau, but their goods are very expensive.

Health

Medical care is limited in Dominica. Fortunately, sea rescue service is now available at the North End of the island. Doctors and hospitals expect immediate cash payment for all health services, so for many people on the island it is close to impossible to afford to pay for services. In 2002, Dominica reported a rise in the number of cases of people affected with tuberculosis. Usually, an increased number of cases of tuberculosis gives reason to believe there are increased number of cases of HIV and AIDS infections. Another health problem in Dominica that has been reported is unprotected sex, teenage pregnancy and other gender issues, which has also increased the number of HIV and AIDS infections. The healthcare system includes a main hospital in the capital Roseau, with smaller hospitals in Portsmouth, Grand Bay, and Marigot. Traditional medical knowledge includes the use of herbs, plants and tree barks to cure illnesses, induce labor and for other things. Prescription medication and natural remedies are used, but are discourage by healthcare professionals. Life expectancy is reasonably high for a poor country with an average expectancy for seventy-five years old for men and eighty-one for women.

Education

Churches have played a huge role in Dominica through the establishment of institutions for formal and informal education. Since the mid 1970's, the preschool program has benefited from training and financial support provided by the government and international agencies. Children attended the primary school system between the ages of five and fifteen. By the age fifteen, they were usually in third form (same as 8th grade in the U.S.) and prepared to enter secondary school. Four of the secondary schools would accept children at the age of twelve based on their grade on a Common Entrance Exam give by the Ministry of Education. Secondary school continued up to fifth form (same as 10th grade in the U.S.), and most students ended their formal education at this level. In the late 1980's there were no laws stating children must attend school, so most children worked full or part-time instead. Post Secondary education is limited to the Teacher's Training College, the Clifton Dupiguy Community College, and and the University of the West Indies for more education. Adult education is given in Roseau, Portsmouth, and sometimes in villages. In 1991 a census was taken and it was shown that only 2 percent of the population of Dominica receives a university education.

Governance

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Eluid WILLIAMS (Interim since 2013) head of government: Prime Minister Edison C. JAMES (since 12 June 1995) cabinet : Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by the House of Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 4 October 1993 (next to be held NA October 1998); prime minister appointed by the president election results : Crispin Anselm SORHAINDO elected president; percent of legislative vote - NA Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats, 9 appointed senators, 21 elected by popular vote representatives; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 12 June 1995; byelections held 13 August 1996 (next to be held by October 2000) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UWP 12, DLP 5, DFP 4 Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (located in Santa Lucia), one of the six judges must reside in Dominica and preside over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction

Political parties and leaders: Dominica Freedom Party or DFP [Charles SAVERIN]; Dominica Labor Party or DLP [Rosie DOUGLAS]; United Workers Party or UWP [Edison JAMES]

Elections
Dominica has a westminster-style parliamentary government, with two major political parties: the Dominica Labour Party and the Dominica United Workers Party. A president and a prime minister make up the executive branch, and the president is elected for a five year term by the parliament. The prime minister and cabinet are responsible to the parliament and can be removed on a non-confidence vote. The House of Assembly is made up of twenty-one regional representatives and nine senators. The regional representatives decide whether senators are elected or appointed. Elections for representatives and senators must take place no later than five years after the first meeting of parliament. Dominica's legal system is based on English common law, that consists of three magistrate's courts, with appeals made to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal. There are 111 polling districts in Dominica. A person is qualified to be registered as an elector if he: is a citizen of the Commonwealth of Dominica, or is a Commonwealth citizen who has resided in Dominica for a period of twelve months, is eighteen years or older, and has resided in that polling district for a period of at least three months immediately following the date of registration. A person can not be registered as an elector for more than one polling district. A person can be disqualified as an elector or not taken into consideration as an elector if he: is a person declared to have an unsound mind, is undergoing any sentence of imprisonment in Dominica, is under s sentence of death put upon him by a court, and if they are under any written law that disqualifies them as an elector. A person remains registered unless: they have died, there has been as objection to their registration, they have not been in Dominica for a period over five years, or they have been disqualified.

Punishment
Ages for Legal Purposes:

 * The legal age for majority is 18 years old
 * The legal age for consent for sexual activity is 16 years old
 * The legal age of consent for marriage is 18 years old

Rape: Article 49 of the "Offenses Against the Person" Act, Laws of Dominica: "Any person who is convicted of the crime of rape is liable to imprisonment for ten years."

The crime rate in Dominica has increased greatly, and anyone who is found guilty for the most recent murders will most likely be sentenced by a judge to be hung to death.

"Magistrates may apprentice persons under the age of sixteen years convicted of larceny or vagrancy. Every person, being under the age of sixteen years, who is convicted before any Magistrate of stealing, or of destroying or damaging with intent to steal, any tree, plant, root, fruit or other vegetable production growing in any garden, orchard, provision ground or cane piece, whether enclosed or not, or of the larceny of any other article of produce, or of any livestock, the value of which does not exceed twenty five dollars, or who may be proved to the satisfaction of a Magistrate to be leading an idle and vagrant life, may, with the consent of the parent, reputed parent, or guardian of such person, but not otherwise, be apprenticed by the Magistrate to any householder, or to any proprietor, or manager of any estate or plantation, for any period not exceeding five years; and every such apprenticeship shall be in lieu of any punishment which the Magistrate might have inflicted upon such offender. "

Legal Personnel
The legal system in the Commonwealth of Dominica is based on the English Common Law. The hierarchy of courts in the Dominica go as follows: Magistrate Court, High Court, Court of Appeal, and finally the highest Court of Appeal the Privy Council. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the Privy Council are binding authority, while the English Courts are persuasive authority. The judicial system in Dominica is composed of a high court judge, five magistrates, and ten magistrate courts. Appeals can be made to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, and to the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. Dominica has a written constitution, and is the supreme law of the land. All laws must conform to the constitution that protects rights such as: the right to life, to personal liberty, protection from inhuman treatment, and freedom of expression.

Law Enforcement
The Dominica Police Force was established in 1840, and in 1856 Magistrate Edward Lockhard was head of the Force with only twelve men. In 1907, the Federal Police Act was made and Dominica became a single force function in the Windward Islands. From 1960 Dominica's Police Force was administered by Chief of Police James Monigard, a British officer. By 1978 the Force was at 282 men, and presently the Force has increased to 412 men, which proves how crime has increased in Dominica. Dominica and The United States work together in a battle against illegal drugs in Dominica. Dominica cooperates with U.S. agencies to help stop trafficking and selling of illegal drugs such as marijuana. In 1995, the Dominica government signed a maritime law enforcement agreement with the United States to improve counternarcotics coordination, and in 1996 signed mutual legal assistance. The Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force is governed by the Police Act Chapter 14:01 of the Revised Laws of Dominica. The head of the police force(Commissioner) is Matthias Lestrade, and his partner is Deputy Commissioner of Police Hobbes Jno. Baptiste. The ranks in Dominica go as follows:

Gazetted Officers:

 * Commissioner of Police
 * Deputy Commissioner of Police
 * Superintendent of Police
 * Assistant Superintendent of Police
 * Subordinate Officers:

 * Inspectors
 * Station Sergeants
 * Sergeants
 * Corporals
 * Constables

Crime Rates and Public Opinion

 * Acquitted	8
 * Assaults	70
 * Burglaries	1,297
 * Car thefts	72
 * Convicted	495
 * Frauds	32
 * Jails	1
 * Judges and Magistrates	6
 * Murders	2
 * Police	442
 * Prisoners	298 prisoners
 * Prisoners > Female	2.1%
 * Prisoners > Per capita	420 per 100,000 people
 * Prisoners > Share of prison capacity filled	143.3%
 * Rapes	24
 * Robberies	57
 * Total crimes	7,857

For a Caribbean country, Dominica has a low to medium crime rate. An comparision was taken in 1999 by INTERPOL recording data such as murder, robbery, rape, aggravated assault and motor vechile theft. "Dominica will be compared with Japan (country with a low crime rate) and USA (country with a high crime rate). According to the INTERPOL data, for murder, the rate in 1999 was 7.89 per 100,000 population for Dominica, 1.00 for Japan, and 4.55 for USA. For rape, the rate in 1999 was 19.72 for Dominica, compared with 1.47 for Japan and 32.05 for USA. For robbery, the rate in 1999 was 80.20 for Dominica, 3.34 for Japan, and 147.36 for USA. For aggravated assault, the rate in 1999 was 682.39 for Dominica, 15.97 for Japan, and 329.63 for USA. For burglary, the rate in 1999 was 1735.56 for Dominica, 206.01 for Japan, and 755.29 for USA. The rate of larceny for 1999 was 17.12 for Dominica, 1267.95 for Japan, and 2502.66 for USA (data for Dominica were from 1998--no data reported in 1999). The rate for motor vehicle theft in 1999 was 77.57 for Dominica, compared with 34.01 for Japan and 412.70 for USA. The rate for all index offenses combined was 2603.33 for Dominica, compared with 1529.75 for Japan and 4184.24 for USA. (Note: data were not reported to INTERPOL by the USA for 1999, but were derived from data reported to the United Nations for 1999)"

Family Law
Only monogamous marriages are permitted by law. Marriage is based on individual choice, but is limited by class and religion. Men are expected to take care of their children financially, regardless of the child's relationship with either parent. A man or woman can be head of the household, and a man does not need to live in the household. "The predominant inheritance practice is "family land," in which a parcel of land is owned jointly by descendants of the original owner, either male or female." Marriage licenses are issued when : parties wish to marry at the High Court, parties wish to marry at outside designated for that purpose such as churches, do not wish their Bann to be aired at church. To obtain a marriage license the following is required: completed application form 'G' that must be signed by both parties and witnessed by a Magistrate, a completed Declaration Form must be signed by each party before a Commissioner of Oaths, a birth certificate for each person, a non-marriage certificate that must be presented to ensure that neither person has been married and if they have been they need a Decree of Divorce, or a death certificate of the former spouse, and a license fee of EC $300.00 must be paid on submission to the Ministry of Social Services, Community Development and Gender Affairs. To obtain a non-marriage certificate, the applicant must bring a birth certificate, and a baptismal or dedication certificate with a notification from the Priest or Pastor saying the applicant is free to marry. For a person that is born before 1964 they need postage stamps of EC $8.00 and to get someone to take an oath saying they have known the applicant for many years and they are not married. For a person that is born after 1964 all they need is postage stamps of EC $3.00 To bring an adopted child to the United States from Dominica, you must be found eligible to adopt by the U.S. Government agencies that are responsible for making the decision are the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Dominica has two requirements for possible adoptive parents: adoptive parents should not be under the age of twenty-five and adopting parents should be employed or have some way of supporting a child. The Welfare Division is the adoption agency in Dominica. The process for adopting a child from Dominica goes as follows: In Dominica there is no levied inheritance tax, but there are against woman receiving any kind of inheritance even if their husband or relative left a will. Also a person is allowed to leave their property to sometime during his/her lifetime.
 * 1. Chose an adoption service provider (adoption service providers must be licensed by the U.S. State in which they operate)
 * 2. Apply to be found eligible to adopt (To bring a child home from the Dominica you must be found eligible to adopt by filing out Form 1-600A)
 * 3. Be matched with a child (The child must be eligible to be adopted according to Dominica's standards)
 * 4. Adopt the child in Dominica (Three factors play a role in this step: role of the adoption authority, documents required, and adoption fees)
 * 5. Apply for the child to be found eligible for adoption (The U.S. Government and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services determine if you're eligible)
 * 6. Take Child Home ( You will need a birth certificate, Dominica passport and U.S. Immigrant Visa)

Human Rights
Every person in Dominica is entitled to fundamental rights and freedom. This means they are entitled to rights no matter their race, place of origins, political opinions, color or sex, but they have to respect the rights and freedoms of others for public interest. They have to respect each of the following: life, liberty, security of the person,protection of the law, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, and protection for the property of his home. A person has the following protection rights in Dominica: personal liberty, slavery and forced labour, inhuman treatment, discrimination, deprivation of property, arbitary search or entry, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly, and protection from a person detained under emergency laws. Madam Chair is a commitment to address gender discrimination and to achieve all the objectives in the development of a National Policy and Action Plan for Gender Equality and Equality, in the Commonwealth of Dominica. The National Gender Policy reaffirms the government's commitment to gender equality and social justice. The goal of the policy is to create domestic peace, lower levels of violence, and to improve the quality of life.

Dominica is participating in the OECS Family Law and Domestic Violence Legislative Reform Project, which seeks to bring family law into conformity with CEDAW and CRC. The Labour Contract Act: which embodies the principle of equality between men and women and prohibits differences in rates of pay for same work based on the sex of the employee.

The Social Security Act: which provides for 12 weeks maternity leave. Also, male public sector workers are now entitled to paternity leave pursuant to an agreement between the main trade union and the government signed in December 2008.

title: Comparative law and justice/Dominica


text:
Comparative law and justice/Madagascar

Part of the Comparative law and justice Wikiversity Project

Basic Information
Population
 * 20,653,573

Age Structure
 * 0-14 years: 43.5% (Male- 4,523,033/Female- 4,460,473)

 * 15-64 years: 53.5% (Male- 5,483,684/Female- 5,557,098)

 * 65 years and over: 3% (Male- 280,677/Female- 348,591)

Religion
 * Indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%

Capital of Madagascar
 * Antananarivo

Geographic Coordinates
 * 20 00 S, 47 00 E

Climate
 * -Tropical along the coast
 * -Temperate inland,
 * -Arid in south

Terrain
 * -Narrow coastal plain
 * -High plateau
 * -Mountains in center

Ethnic Groups
 * -Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo),
 * -Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava)
 * -French
 * -Indian
 * -Creole
 * -Comoran

Languages
 * -English (official)
 * -French (official)
 * -Malagasy (official)

All information acquired from the World Factbook.

Brief History

 * Madagascar (also known as The Republic of Madagascar) was an independent kingdom that the British and the French both had an ambition to acquire into their colony. Ultimately the result ended in French colonization in 1896, but Madagascar regained independence from colonial rule in June 26,1960. Madagascar is right in the Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of Africa about 400 km off the coast of Mozambique. Madagascar is the world’s fourth-largest island; it is twice the size of Arizona. The country's low-lying coastal area gives way to a central plateau.  The island is recognized as one of the world's top ten hot spots for biodiversity.

Economic Development
GDP (official exchange rate)
 * $8.551 billion*

GDP per capital
 * $1,000*

Labor Force
 * 9.504 million (2007 est.)

Industries
 * -Meat processing
 * -Seafood
 * -Soap
 * -Breweries
 * -Tanneries
 * -Sugar
 * -Textiles
 * -Glassware
 * -Cement
 * -Automobile assembly plant
 * -Paper
 * -Petroleum
 * -Nickel
 * -Tourism

Agriculture Products:
 * -coffee
 * -vanilla
 * -sugarcane
 * -cloves
 * -cocoa
 * -rice
 * -cassava (tapioca)
 * -beans
 * -bananas
 * -peanuts
 * -livestock products

Exports
 * $1.045 billion*
 * Commodities-
 * -Coffee
 * -Vanilla
 * -Shellfish
 * -Sugar
 * -Cotton cloth
 * -Chromite
 * -Petroleum products
 * Partners-
 * France 28.9%
 * US 20.49%
 * Germany 5.89%
 * China 4.36%

Imports
 * $1.819 billion*
 * Commodities
 * -Capital goods
 * -Petroleum
 * -Consumer goods
 * -Food

 * Partners
 * China 12.99%
 * Thailand 11.93%
 * Bahrain 7.1%
 * France 6.89%
 * US 4.13%

*note- data is established in 2009 US Dollars

Health
Infant Mortality Rate:
 * Total- 54.2 deaths/1,000 live births
 * Male- 59.12 deaths/1,000 live births
 * Female- 49.13 deaths/1,000 live births

Life Expectancy at Birth: Total- population: 62.89 years Male- 60.93 years Female- 64.91 years

Education
Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write):
 * Male- 75.5%
 * Female- 62.5%

School Life Expectancy:
 * Total- 9 years
 * Male- 10 years
 * Female- 9 years

All information in this section was acquired from the World Factbook

Governance
The government is a Democratic Republic that is run from the Constitution. The Constitutionof Madagascar was adopted on August 19, 1992, and was put into effect on September 12, 1992. Their Constitution is consists of 149 articles that provides the separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The Legislative branch is the National Assembly and the Senate, Judicial branch consists of Supreme Court, High Court of Justice, Constitutional High Court, and Executive branch includes president, prime minister, cabinet. . The government officials are elected by the following:
 * The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term
 * The Senate consists of 90 Seats, 60 members are indirectly elected by provincial assemblies and 30 members are appointed by the President; members serve 6-year terms
 * The National Assembly consists of 160 Seats. Members are elected by direct popular vote using parallel systems - 82 single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system and 34 two-member constituencies using the party-list proportional representation system; members serve 4-year terms.

Family Of Law:

The category in Family of Law that Madagascar falls under is Rational, which is based on reason. They follow frances law system which is civil law.

Elections
The President is elected for a five year term, and can only serve two terms in office. If no candidate wins the majority of the popular vote, then there will be a run off election held between the two leading candidates, within a two-month period. If a Cotier wins the election for presidency, then a Merina will have to serve as the Prime Minister. This Law is Vice Versa.

Law Making Process
Laws shall be voted by Parliament under conditions established by this section. Parliament shall consist of the National Assembly and the Senate.

Office Holding Qualifications
Article 46 of the Constitution states that:

(1) All candidates for the office of President of the Republicmust possess all civil and political rights and must be at least 40 years old at the time the candidacy is declared.

(2) To become a candidate, the President then in office must resign one day before the beginning of the electoral campaign.

(3) Other conditions for candidacy shall he established by law.

Voting Eligibility Voters who are registered, present voters card and identification; government officials check name on register, they give a ballot paper. The voter then marks the ballot of his/her candidate of choice, then leaves and places the ballot in the box; signs or thumb prints record of voting, the official then checks it against voter card; finger marked with indelible ink.

Courts and Criminal Law
In Madagascar it is the Supreme Court, the Appeal Courts, the Tribunals and the High Court of Justice who have the judicial power according to the terms of the Constitution and the law. There are two levels of jurisdiction in the legal system, they are the independence of the judge and the authority of the judgment. Since independence, legislative unification has been underway with the codification of modern law and new judicial organisation. "The legal system is affected by the Long Process of procedures, the interference of different authorities, competent or not, in the course of penal procedures and the lack of information about legal affairs and jurisprudence, not to mention rumors of corruption". President of the Republic appoints and revokes the magistrates by decree. The legal system is based on two levels of jurisdiction, the independence of the judge and the authority of the judgment. The government of Madagascar is required to provide the counsel for all detainees who cannot afford their own attorney; but the detainees were unaware of this practice. Attorneys have the right to receive government-held evidence, but this right does isn’t extended out to the defendants without attorneys. Their law provides a presumption of innocence; but, the presumption of innocence was mostly overlooked. While the law provides that juries can be used in all cases, in practice, juries were used only in labor disputes.

Punishment
If a U.S citizen travels to another country, they are then subject to the laws and regulations of the particular country they're visiting. These laws and regulations are sometimes very different from the laws held in the United States, and they most likely wouldn’t have any protections available for the individual under U.S. law. The penalty for breaking the law in Madagascar will be more crude than breaking the law in the United States. The sanctions for violating the Malagasy laws, even if the person was unaware are, expulsion from the land, arrested or imprisoned. In Madagascar, penalties that a person can receive for possession, use, or trafficking of illegal drugs are much more severe and if convicted, offenders can expect a very long jail sentence and possible heavy fines. If a person is traveling to Madagascar from the U.S., if they engage in sexual activity with people under the age of 18, or disseminating child pornography it will be considered a crime and is prosecutable in the United States. There were some tries to stop capital punishment in Madagascar, but the Justice Minister is defending the idea of keeping the death penalty. In 2007 Madagascar ranked 94 in the world for imprisonment rates with 20,294 people in the prison and out of every 100,000 people, 107 of them are in prison. The prison conditions in Madagascar are very harsh. The Cells were built to have only one person living there, but they house up to eight prisoners there. The prisoners that do not have any family, usually would go days without eating. The prisoners often have many medical conditions because of their lifestyle in the prison, including malnutrition, infections, malaria, and tuberculosis. The children would live in the prison and stay with their mother if the father wasn’t around. The females would engage in prostitution with the prison guards. Children are automatically abolished from receiving the death penalty. They are issued a tutor if they are in conflict with the law. The children also have hearings in front of the parents and/or the tutors. They are held in different cells than the adult males and females.

Law Enforcement
Madagascar fits into the multiple coordinated taxonomy type. The national police include a regular 500- member unit and a sixty-member paramilitary mobile unit. They are usually unarmed, except for the mobile force that uses the 7-62 SLR rifles. The police organization includes headquarters, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Special Force (Police Mobile Unit), general duties, and a special branch. A commandant manages the police training school at Praslin. The school provides a training course for recruits which takes about fifteen weeks, a two week course for supervisory officers', two-week promotion courses, and four-week basic courses. Each district also has field training. Western observers believe that the national police are weak and are not paid enough. As a result, the police have limited military value. There are three different types of armed forces in the Madagascar military. They are Intervention Force, Development Force, and Aeronaval Force (navy and air).

Corruption
In 2005 Madagascar scored a 2.8 out of a 10 point scale, (0=very corrupted, 10=no corruption) in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. They are ranked 99 out of 159 countries in the world.

Crime Rates and Public Opinion
According to the OSAC 2010 Madagascar Crime and Safety Report, crime is consistent with the other countries developing in Africa. The crime rate has been rising rapidly since 2007. Due to the country's recent political crisis, Madagascar experienced an alarming spike in crime, both in the frequency and severity of incidents in 2009. "Criminal elements engage in criminal activity and methods previously unheard of and now unprecedented crimes occur on a daily basis." Although the rate of crime in Madagascar is significantly lower than other countries in Africa and the U.S. Madagascar is one of the safest countries in Africa and even compared to the U.S.  However there is crime in Madagascar in 2009, there were 477 reported armed attacks. There are other known crimes which include Carjacking, pick pocketing, purse snatching and residential and vehicular theft. These crimes are the most reported, and usually involve westerners, this occurs because American Citizens usually have more valuables than the citizens of Madagascar.

Any crimes that happen in other countries are very difficult to follow for many reasons. Culturally, values on violence and crime range from culture to culture as well as throughout religions. The status of the economy can be a problem for some of these countries. Things like economic inequality, labor, and lack of education could play a major role to why many people in these countries commit crimes. Other than culturally and economically, the cultures law systems has to be considered when tracking crime. The countries laws on violence along with the corruption of the government has a major effect on the crime rates. These along with measurement errors such as a society’s ability to organize data, or even a societies definition of crime, must be considered when tracking and comparing a countries crime rates.

Marriage/Divorce
Marriage in Madagascar is done by the elders of each spouse, to determine whether they should be married. Divorce is a common thing among people in Madagascar. At the age of forty most Malagasy would have been in several marriages. The reasons for the divorce could be many different things. For example if the husband wasn't bringing home adequate food, basically ignoring the duties of a father, or if the mother isn't taking care of the kids, then either spouse would have the right to end the marriage. In Madagascar, anyone is allowed to get married as long as the parents from both sides of the family give consent. Usually when the families agree on marriage, it's to help strengthen familial and social relationships.

Adoption
Adoption isn't very common, but does occur every so often. Adoption between the U.S and Madagascar is controlled by the Hague Adoption Convention. They have some requirements before someone is able to adopt. The requirements are residency which states that at least one parent has to live in Madagascar with the child for at least a month, known as the probationary period. There is an age requirement that at least one parent needs to be above 30 years of age. The family has to be heterosexual couples, if one of the spouses dies, or they get a divorce then the process for adoption is terminated.

Inheritance
Inheritance is determined by what product the deceased is giving up. If land was left then the inheritance would go to the oldest male child. If jewelery was in the will, then it would go to to the oldest female child. Both of the parents have the right to make decisions in the family about the children. Usually if the husband left the family, then the wife would most likely keep the children. It is common for the children to stay with their mother.

Human Rights
"The Madagascar Constitution of 1998 solemnly confirms the respect of human rights and the protection of the fundamental individual and collective liberties, as well as transparency in the conduct of public affairs and the application of the rule of law". In the constitution of Madagascar, it is stated that the State shall prohibit all discrimination based on sex, education, wealth, origin, race, religion, or opinion.

title: Comparative law and justice/Madagascar