Criminal courts

_{There are many different types of courts and many ways to classify and describe them. Basic distinctions must be made between civil and criminal courts, between courts of general jurisdiction and those of limited jurisdiction, and between trial and appellate courts.}

_{Criminal courts deal with persons accused of crime, deciding whether they are guilty and, if so, determining the consequences they shall suffer. Prosecution is on behalf of the public, represented by some official such as a district attorney, prosecutor, or a police officer.}

_{In civil-law countries a more active role is assigned to the judge. In the common-law courts, in which the «adversary» procedure prevails, the lawyers for both sides bear responsibility for producing evidence and they do most of the questioning of witnesses.}

_{In civil-law countries, «inquisitorial» procedure prevails, with judges doing most of the questioning of witnesses and having an independent responsibility to discover the facts.}

_{If a person has been found guilty, he is sentenced, again according to law and within limits fixed by legislation. The objective is not so much to wreak vengeance upon the offender as to rehabilitate him and deter others from following his example. Hence the most common sentences are fines, short terms of imprisonment, and probation (which allows the offender to remain at large but under supervision).}

_{In extremely serious cases, the goal may be to prevent the offender from committing further crimes, which may call for a long term of imprisonment or even capital punishment. The death penalty, however, is gradually disappearing from the criminal codes of civilized nations.}

_{Civil courts deal with “private” controversies, as where two individuals (or corporations) are in dispute over the terms of a contract or over who shall bear responsibility for an auto accident. Ordinarily the public is not a party as in criminal proceedings, for it has no interest beyond providing just rules for decision and a forum where the dispute can be impartially and peacefully resolved.}

_{The objective of civil actions is not punishment or correction of the defendant or the setting of an example to others but rather to restore the parties so far as possible to the positions they would have occupied had no legal wrong been committed. The most common civil remedy is a judgment for money damages.}

_{There are, however, areas of overlap, for a single incident may give rise to both civil liability and criminal prosecution. Two separate actions must be brought, independent of each.}

1. _{What is the main distinction in qualifying court system?}

2. _{What do criminal courts deal with?}

3. _{What is the role of the judge in civil-law countries?}

4. _{What is the objective of dealing with the offender in criminal cases?}

5. _{What is the objective of civil actions?}

Business administration economics as a science part I

The word 'economics' derives from the Greek word 'oikonomika' that means household management. Economics came of age as a separate area of study with the publication of Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations". Adam Smith is often considered to be the founder of modern day economics because he was the first writer to outline and appraise the workings of a free market economy. Major economic thinkers (include David Ricardo, Thomas Malthus, J John Mill , Karl Marx and others.

There are many competing schools of thought, in economics: the main division has been between the Classical and Neo-classical schools. Adam Smith, the founder of the Classical school, emphasized primarily the concept of economic value and the distribution of wealth between the classes – workers, capitalists, and landlords. Smith's theories were further developed in the writings of John Stuart Mill and David Ricardo. The workings of the "invisible hand" of the market place, which allocated resources according to the self-interest of both producers and consumers, led to the promotion of the social good. Central to the theory were economic freedom, competition, and laissez-faire government. The idea that economic growth could best be prompted by free trade, unassisted by government, was in conflict with mercantilism. The belief that agriculture was the chief determinant of economic health was also rejected in favour of manufacturing development, and the importance of labour productivity was stressed. The theories put forward by the classical economists still influence economists today. The Marxist school of thought is one of the offshoots of the Classical school of economics.

Since 1776, economic thought has developed considerably against the backdrop of ever more complex economies. David Ricardo an economist working in the early 19^th century predicted that eventually economies would cease to grow and that workers wages would settle down at a subsistence level whilst land owners and capitalists would reap huge rewards. His prediction led to economies being dubbed "the dismal science". We know today that Ricardo's thinking was flawed and that workers in the rich industrialized countries of the world enjoy prosperity undreamt of in Ricardo's time.

The Neo-classical school, now the mainstream of western economic thought, emphasizes the role of allocating scarce resources between competing ends. The founders of this school, William Jevons, Carl Menger, and Leon Walras, were known as Marginalists. Neoclassicists believed competition to be the regulator uneconomic activity that would establish equilibrium between demand and supply through the operation of market forces. The economist Alfred Marshall (10) established the orthodox position of Neo-classical ⁴ economics, which, as modified by John Maynard Keynes (11) remains the standard today.

1. What does the word economics mean?

2. Why is Adam Smith considered to be the founder of economics?

3. What is the meaning of the “invisible hand”?

4. What were the main concepts of Classical school of economics?

5. What does the Neo- classical school emphasize?