Comparative law and justice/India

Subject classification: this is a comparative law and justice resource.

Part of the Comparative law and justice Wikiversity Project Kenia 19:15, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

Basic Information

The national flag of India, with three horizontal stripes and a 24-spoke wheel in the centre.

A map of India, showing the location of the major cities.

India is a federation of twenty-eight states, eight union territories, and one national capital territory, with populations ranging from 406,000 (Sikkim) to 190 million (Uttar Pradesh). Ten of the states each have more than 40 million people, making them country-like in significance. There are eighteen official Scheduled Languages, clearly defined since the reorganization of states along linguistic lines in the 1950s and 1960s. Social structures within the states vary considerably, and encompass a great deal of cultural diversity.

Brief History

The Indus Valley civilization is one of the world's oldest. It flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India.The British Indian army played an important role in both world wars. The non-violent movement against british rule, led by Mohandas Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, eventually brought about independence in 1947. The two states India and Pakistan resulted from the violence that led subcontinents bloody partition. The two countries have fought four wars since independence. First war is fought in 1947, second in 1965 and third war in 1971 and last & major war fought in 1999. Wars of 1971 between India-Pakistan resulted in the separate nation Bangladesh. "Despite pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, rapid economic development is fueling India's rise on the world stage".

Economic Development, Health, and Education

"India is developing into an open-market economy.Economic liberalization, including reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, began in the early 1990s and has served to accelerate the country's growth, which has averaged more than 7% per year since 1997." India also has expanded their large educated English speaking population in order to increase and become a major exporter of information technology services and software workers. Due to an industrial slowdown in early 2008, it then led to a global financial crisis and the annual GDP growth to slow down to 6.1% in 2009. although India managed to escape the financial crisis because of cautious banking policies and a relatively low dependence on exports for growth. india is still the second highest growth in the world among major economies.

In 2005, India had a GDP of 3.2% the country ranked 140 compared to the world.School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)is a total of ten years, for males its 11 years and as for females it 9 years..

Governance

The head of government is Prime Minister Narendra Modi the chief of state is President Draupadi Murmu and vice president President Jagdeep Dhankhar. The government type is the Federal Republic, the constitution is on January 26, 1950, and was amended many times.

Electoral

President elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both houses of Parliament and the legislatures of the states for a five-year term (no term limits); election last held in July 2007 (next to be held in July 2012) The participation of state and territory assemblies in the election is designed to ensure that the president is chosen to head the nation and not merely the majority party in Parliament, thereby placing the office above politics and making the incumbent a symbol of national unity.

Judicial Review

One chief justice and 25 associate justices are appointed by the president. They remain in office until they reach the age of 65 or are removed for "proved misbehavior". According to the English common law judicial review of legislative acts accepts compulsory jurisdiction with reservation. Also, separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus. . Judicial review in India comprises of three aspects, judicial review of legislative action, judicial review of judicial decisions and judicial review of administrative action.

Courts and Criminal Law

Punishment

The penalties range from, death sentence, life imprisonment, imprisonment, forfeiture of property, and fines. A person under the age of 21 may be released on probation, under the circumstances in which they are convicted of an offense punishable with a fine or with imprisonment for 7 years or less. Probation with and without supervision is primarily community-based treatment. Punishment takes the primary community-based treatment. Punishment takes the form of a term of imprisonment of fine or some combination of both. "Death sentence can be imposed for murder and for specified offenses against the murder and for specified offenses against the state which include waging the government of India, attempting or abetting war or mutiny. Execution is by hanging, inquiries indicate that in Tamil Nadu, two to three persons are hanged each year.

Legal Personnel

The union government, as India's central government, is known, is divided into three distinct but interrelated branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The India constitution leads on from the western legal traditions as well as the principles of liberal democracy. Parliament consists of a bicameral legislature. Among its constitutional powers are approval and removal of members of the Council of Ministers, amendment of the constitution, approval of central government finances, and delimitation of state and union territory boundaries.The president has a specific authority with respect to the function of the legislative branch. The President is to come together with Parliament and must agree to all parliamentary bills before they become law.

Law Enforcement

The Indian Police is comprised of forces in the States. Each State has its own force headed by a Director-General of Police (DGP) who is equivalent in rank to his counterpart in the Union Government forces. The state of Madhya Pradesh, which is the largest state in terms of area (443,447 square kilometers) has 1,101 Police Stations; A medium-sized State such as Tamil Nadu, with an area of 130,058 square kilometers, has 1,090 police stations. Madhya Pradesh has a police force strength of 86,345, including 1,060 female police, Tamil Nadu, with a population of 55 million, has a force strength of about 70,000, which includes 1,275 female police personnel.This is showing that the population is not so much of an impact but they go by the sizes of the state, and this will determine the law enforcement needed in the area. Also, India's type of police structure is Multiple Coordinated and Decentralized.

Crime Rates and Public Opinion

The common crimes that are typical are counterfeiting, forgery Conspiracy, fraud Conspiracy, crimes against life and health, Crimes against life and health attempt, crimes involving the use of weapons/explosives illegal possession, fraud, vandalism, kidnapping, organized crime/transnational crime, terrorism, thefts.

Rights

Family Law

Children born within the territory of India, regardless of the nationality of their parents, may attain Indian citizenship. The law recognizes only Indian citizenship, which means unless the citizenship is actively applied for, the Indian government does not consider the child a citizen of India. The person has the right to return to India upon reaching the age of 18 and applying for Indian citizenship. Also Indian citizenship may be acquired upon fulfillment of the following conditions: Person has resided in the country for the last five years and has renounced previous citizenship.."Considering what will be for the welfare of the minor, the Courts shall have regard to the age, sex and religion of the minor, the character and capacity of the proposed guardian and his nearness of kin to the minor, the wishes, if any, of a deceased parent, and any existing or previous relations of the proposed guardian with the minor or his property.In the early years of independent India, the Indian judiciary faced severe problems in the execution of law pertaining to children. This was due to a crippling lack of child-care infrastructure, lack of a separate judicial process for children and also due to multiple laws governing children that differed across States and religions" Sex between a man and married women without her husband's consent; man subject to up to 5 years in jail, but not a woman. The minimum marriage age without consent for males is 21. Minimum marriage age without consent for women is 18, and the average is 20-21. The adoptions in India is 50-400.

Human Rights and Social Inequality

Under Indian laws, soldiers are provided to operate in government-designated disturbed areas, and the authority to use lethal force against any person that violates law or orders as well as to destroy property, enter and search premises without warrant and arrest in the interest of maintenance of public order. Soldiers are also protected from any legal proceedings unless it is sanctioned by the central government."As a result, these laws have provided impunity for perpetrators of grave human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, rape, and torture. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have previously found patterns of widespread violations in areas where these laws are in force"

See also

• Indian Government