Enforcing the law

Congress (The USA).

Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 Senators, two from each state. One third of the Senators are elected every two years for six- year terms of office. The Senators represent all of the people in a state and their interests.

The House has 435 members. They are elected every two years for two years terms. They represent the population of “congressional districts” into which each state is divided. The number of representatives from each state is based upon its population. For instance, California, the state with the largest population, has 45 Representatives, while Delaware has one. There is no limit to the number of terms a Senator or a Representative may serve.

Almost all elections in the United States follow the “winner – take – all” principle: the candidate who wins the largest number of votes in a Congressional district is the winner.

Congress makes all laws, and each house of Congress has the power to introduce legislation. Because legislation only becomes laws if both houses agree, compromise between them is necessary. Congress decides upon taxes and how money is spent.

Criminal punishment.

Criminal punishment of person who have committed crimes is one or the forms of state fight against crime. Any criminal punishment is always a restriction of the rights of convicted persons. This restrictions is a sort of retributions for the crime a person committed. If a person is convicted, the court decides on the most appropriate sentences. The facts of the offence, the circumstances of the offender, his/her previous convictions are taken into account. The more serious an offence is, the stricter a penalty should be.

But in any case, the responsibility of the court is to impose an exact and just punishment relevant to the gravity of a crime. The more just the punishment is, the greater is the possibility of a person`s reformation. The defense lawyer may make a speech in mitigation on behalf of the offender.

There are the following basic penalties: depravation of liberty – imprisonment for a certain period of time or life imprisonment -, exile, fines or public censure. Capital punishment is usually used only as an exceptional measure when an especially grave crime was committed. The list of such crimes is not long and it is strictly determined by law. There are quite a lot of countries where death penalty is prohibited.

Enforcing the law.

Governments have many ways to be sure that citizens obey the law. They explain to the public what the law is and try to provide social support for law and order. They use police forces to investigate crimes and catch criminals.

They use courts to complete the investigations of criminal and civil offences and to pass sentences to punish the guilty and deter others. And they try to re – educate and reform people who have broken the law. Which of these is most effective in enforcing the law?

The laws of all countries are in written records – the legal codes of countries, the statutes and case judgments of common law countries, etc. Many people do not know where to find these records. But ignorance of the law is almost never a defend for breaking it. Governments usually expect citizens to know the laws.

However, there are many laws, such as those prohibiting theft, assault and dangerous driving, which simply reflect social and moral attitudes to everyday behavior. In such cases a person knows he is breaking the law, even if he doesn’t know exactly which law is.

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