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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 March 2023

Avitus Agbor Agbor

Over a decade since the Special Criminal Court (SCC) was established in Cameroon, hundreds of individuals have been indicted, tried and convicted. Sentences have been imposed…

Abstract

Purpose

Over a decade since the Special Criminal Court (SCC) was established in Cameroon, hundreds of individuals have been indicted, tried and convicted. Sentences have been imposed, most of which include a term of imprisonment (principal punishment/penalty) and confiscation as accessory penalty or punishment. Research focus has not been directed at the sentences which, as argued in this paper, are inconsistent, incommensurate with the amounts of money stolen and a significant departure from the Penal Code. This paper aims to explore the aspect of sentencing by the SCC.

Design/methodology/approach

To identify, highlight and discuss the issue of sentencing, the paper looks at a blend of primary and secondary materials: primary materials here include but not limited to the judgements of the SCC and other courts in Cameroon and the Penal Code. Secondary materials shall include the works of scholars in the fields of criminal law, criminal justice and penal reform.

Findings

A few findings were made: first, the judges are inconsistent in the manner in which they determine the appropriate sentence. Second, in making that determination, the judges would have been oblivious to the prescripts in the Penal Code, which provides the term of imprisonment, and in the event of a mitigating circumstance, the prescribed minimum to be applied. Yet, the default imposition of an aggravating circumstance (being a civil servant) was not explored by the SCC. Finally, whether the sentences imposed are commensurate with the amounts of monies stolen.

Research limitations/implications

This research unravels key insights into the functioning of the SCC. It advances the knowledge thereon and adds to the literature on corruption in Cameroon.

Practical implications

The prosecution and judges at the SCC should deepen their knowledge of Cameroonian criminal law, especially on the nature of liberty given to judges to determine within the prescribed range of the sentence to be imposed but also consider the existence of an aggravating factor – civil servant. They must also consider whether the sentences imposed befit the crime for which they are convicted.

Originality/value

The paper is an original contribution with new insights on the manner in which sentencing should be approached by the SCC.

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 4 May 2018

Siti Sahara and Meta Suriyani

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide historical and current records about the state of Uqubat Hudud and/or Ta’zir against any person who performs gambling deeds that…

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide historical and current records about the state of Uqubat Hudud and/or Ta’zir against any person who performs gambling deeds that are in fact perceived to be ineffective in its implementation in Langsa City, as it still has not caused the maximum deterrent effect for the community in Kota Langsa. So there are always new actors to maisir action. Therefore, this research is to know the effectiveness of punishment for gamblers in Langsa City and to know the obstacle to punishment for gamblers in Langsa City.

Design/Methodology/Approach – The type of research used in this study is empirical research.

Findings – The findings of law enforcement research have not been effective in enforcing law enforcement against gambling. At the level of investigation and investigation conducted by the police is often that the case of gambling is not disclosed or unchecked and no further handling efforts were undertaken in order to enforce the law. While WH, which is a special sharia police handling cases of jinayat law violations in Aceh, also do not have or qualify as PPNS. Similarly, the case of gambling always continues to exist in the midst of society and does not cause deterrent effect for people in Langsa City Aceh Province, Indonesia. Obstacles in punishment for gamblers in Langsa City consists of two factors namely law enforcement factors and community factors.

Limitations of Research/Implications – This study highlights the problem of the effectiveness of the implementation of Qanun Jinayat in the punishment of gamblers in Aceh, especially Langsa City. Then the legal awareness of the community in Langsa City of Aceh Province is also seen.

Practical Implications – The solution offered enhances the professionalism of police investigators’ performance in Langsa City, provides human resources/Police Wilayatul Hisbah in Langsa City of Aceh Province as civil servant investigator, provides socialization of law on Qanun Jinayat to the people in Langsa City.

Originality/Value – Gambling case always continues to exist in the middle of society and does not cause a deterrent effect for people in Langsa City of Aceh Province Indonesia.

Details

Proceedings of MICoMS 2017
Type: Book
ISBN:

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 August 2023

Kenneth Butterfield, Nathan Robert Neale, Eunjeong Shin and Mengjiao (Rebecca) He

The current management literature suggests that when employees engage in wrongdoing, managers typically respond with punishment. The emerging moral repair literature suggests an…

Abstract

Purpose

The current management literature suggests that when employees engage in wrongdoing, managers typically respond with punishment. The emerging moral repair literature suggests an alternative to punishment: a reparative response that focuses on repairing harm and restoring damaged relationships. However, little is currently known about restorative managerial responses, including why managers respond to employee wrongdoing in a reparative versus punitive manner. The purpose of this paper is to examine a variety of cognitive and emotional influences on this managerial decision.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a scenario-based survey methodology. The authors gathered data from 894 managers in sales and financial services contexts to test a set of hypotheses regarding individual-level influences on managers’ punitive versus restorative responses.

Findings

This study found that managers’ restorative justice orientation, retributive justice orientation, social considerations (e.g. when employees are relatively interdependent versus independent), instrumental considerations (e.g. when the offender is highly valuable to the organization) and feelings of anger influenced their reparative versus punitive responses.

Research limitations/implications

Data are cross-sectional, so causality inferences should be approached with caution. Another potential limitation is common method bias due to single-source and single-wave data.

Practical implications

The findings of this study show that managers often opt for a restorative response to workplace transgressions, and this study surfaces a variety of reasons why managers choose a restorative response instead of a punitive response.

Social implications

This study focuses on social order and expectations within the workplace. This is important to victims, offenders, observers, managers and other stakeholders. This study seeks to emphasize the importance of social factors, a shared social identity, social bonds and other relationships within this manuscript. This is an important component of organizational-focused restorative justice research.

Originality/value

This is the first study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to explicitly test individual-level influences on managers’ reparative versus punitive responses to employee wrongdoing.

Details

Organization Management Journal, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2753-8567

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 19 November 2020

Imani Robinson

This chapter paints a picture of the war on drugs, and the structures of prohibition and punishment that drive it, as extensions of broader systems of state and interpersonal…

Abstract

This chapter paints a picture of the war on drugs, and the structures of prohibition and punishment that drive it, as extensions of broader systems of state and interpersonal violence. I outline the failures of prohibition through the criminalisation of drug-related activities and put forward a framework for harm reduction that has as its foundation a radical critique of punishment in all spheres of our lives. This chapter urges those who advocate for drug policy reform to build broader alliances with the many communities around the world that organise against the continuation of the prison industrial complex (PIC) as a whole, including: people in prison, gendered, racialised and LGBTQI+ communities, sex workers and prison abolitionists. I conclude by offering a vision for abolitionist drug policy, whose ultimate goal is to resist the expansion of the PIC globally and in doing so, to foster greater community resilience both across difference and beyond our increasingly siloed fields of expertise. As drug policy experts, the author can choose to situate the millions of people who use drugs worldwide within global contexts of ongoing state violence and control, so that the reforms the author advocate for match the fullness and complexity of the people and worlds the author are fighting for and tackle the root causes of the many harms our communities face.

Details

The Impact of Global Drug Policy on Women: Shifting the Needle
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83982-885-0

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 August 2022

Sana Mumtaz

This research focuses on the distinct group of high-status employees commonly referred to as workplace vigilantes, and conceptually investigates how unethical requests by these…

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Abstract

Purpose

This research focuses on the distinct group of high-status employees commonly referred to as workplace vigilantes, and conceptually investigates how unethical requests by these individuals impact the behavior and attitude of other employees over time using the social identity theory.

Design/methodology/approach

For developing a conceptual model, literature from the domains of social identity, organizational behavior and general management was searched through Google Scholar. To search the literature, some key terms such as “unethical activities”, “Islamic work ethics” and “social identity” were searched and analyzed.

Findings

Using the social identity theory, a conceptual process model is developed which suggests that when high-status employees propose unethical requests to employees, individuals with high morality are likely to refuse those unethical requests to protect their self-categorizations. However, taking the unfair advantage of their illegitimate powers, high-status employees are likely to eventually make wrong judgments and give unnecessary punishments to moral employees. It is further argued that consistent victimization is likely to negatively impact the social identity of such employees and leads to irritability in moral employees, particularly when such individuals are unable to get the requisite social support from their leaders.

Originality/value

While a considerable body of literature has focused on the antecedents and consequences of intense unethical business practices and the crucial role of leaders in such activities, limited attention has been given to the role of other employees and how they engage in mild unethical misconduct regularly, which is the key focus of this research. The novel conceptual framework needs to be tested in diverse contexts for further development and validation.

Details

PSU Research Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2399-1747

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 August 2021

Colin Williams and Jan Windebank

The aim of this paper is to evaluate contrasting ways of tackling self-employment in the informal sector. Conventionally, the participation of the self-employed in the informal…

1129

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to evaluate contrasting ways of tackling self-employment in the informal sector. Conventionally, the participation of the self-employed in the informal sector has been viewed as a rational economic decision taken when the expected benefits outweigh the costs, and thus enforcement authorities have sought to change the benefit-to-cost ratio by increasing the punishments and chances of being caught. Recently, however, neo-institutional theory has viewed such endeavor as a product of a lack of vertical trust (in government) and horizontal trust (in others) and pursued trust-building strategies to nurture voluntary compliance.

Design/methodology/approach

To evaluate these contrasting policy approaches, data are reported from special Eurobarometer survey 92.1 conducted in 2019 across 28 European countries (the 27 member states of the European Union and the United Kingdom) involving over 27,565 interviews.

Findings

Using probit regression analysis, the finding is that the likelihood of participation in informal self-employment is not associated with the level of expected punishments and chances of being caught, but is significantly associated with the level of vertical and horizontal trust, with a greater likelihood of participation in informal self-employment when there is lower vertical and horizontal trust.

Practical implications

The outcome is a call for state authorities to shift away from the use of repressive policy measures that increase the penalties and chances of being caught and toward trust-building strategies to nurture voluntary compliance. How this can be achieved is explored.

Originality/value

Evidence is provided to justify a shift toward seeking trust-building strategies by state authorities to engender voluntary compliance among the self-employed operating in the informal sector in Europe.

Details

Fulbright Review of Economics and Policy, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2635-0173

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 September 2022

Na Zhang and Ke Bin Lu

This research studies the behavior choice of key actors in the construction supply chain and constructs a model which includes the benefit function of the government, contractors…

Abstract

Purpose

This research studies the behavior choice of key actors in the construction supply chain and constructs a model which includes the benefit function of the government, contractors and owners, aiming at improving the coverage of green buildings.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, tripartite dynamic game is studied and simulated based on duplicate dynamic equation. The tripartite game under government intervention is rarely considered, and government punishment measures are seldom introduced into the research.

Findings

According to the simulation results, the practical insights in line with the development of green supply chain are put forward. Rewards and punishments affect the development of the supply chain. New technologies and new materials accelerate the development of green supply chain and then improve the coverage of green buildings.

Research limitations/implications

This paper constructs a dynamic model based on complete information rationality, which is difficult to realize in practice, for information is incomplete and human rationality is limited.

Originality/value

In fact, the government has not issued a punishment document to introduce a new variable adjustment model.

Details

Modern Supply Chain Research and Applications, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3871

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 May 2006

Nilanjan Banik and John Gilbert

In a dynamic extension of the reciprocal dumping approach, oligopolistic firms producing imperfect substitutes use the carrot and stick strategy to enforce cooperative behavior…

Abstract

In a dynamic extension of the reciprocal dumping approach, oligopolistic firms producing imperfect substitutes use the carrot and stick strategy to enforce cooperative behavior. When dumping occurs, firms lobby for tariffs as punishment. After a finite punishment period, the non-dumping equilibrium is restored. Conditions are derived on the degrees of substitutability and observability that allow non-dumping under an infinite horizon. The model suggests the degree of substitutability between goods and the market interest rate, affect the likelihood of dumping.

Details

Journal of International Logistics and Trade, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1738-2122

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 November 2023

Chiara Natalie Focacci and Pak Hung Lam

According to statistics by the US National Sexual Violence Resource Center, more than 50% of women claim they have been raped by an intimate partner or an acquaintance. In this…

Abstract

Purpose

According to statistics by the US National Sexual Violence Resource Center, more than 50% of women claim they have been raped by an intimate partner or an acquaintance. In this experiment, the authors test whether exposing individuals to different types of images portraying the victim and their perpetrator influences individuals' perception of (1) the perpetrator's deserved punishment and (2) the role played by the victim in her rape.

Design/methodology/approach

In an experimental survey, the authors randomly treat groups of individuals with manipulated facial and physical expressions of the same photographs.

Findings

The authors find that news about rape are more or less effective in uncovering the seriousness of the crime independent of the pictures accompanying them, suggesting media should avoid their misusage.

Originality/value

While the role of the narrative of rape has been extensively discussed in the literature from a theoretical perspective, this research provides original evidence based on actual behavioural response.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 43 no. 13/14
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 October 2023

Wing-hong Chui, Henry Kao and Aaron H.L. Wong

The paper aims to recommend legal and regulatory reforms to better prevent child abuse in childcare institutions in Hong Kong.

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Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to recommend legal and regulatory reforms to better prevent child abuse in childcare institutions in Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach

A summary of investigation report and news reports are referred to in describing the abuse incidents which occurred in a children’s residential home. Routine Activity Theory (RAT) is used as the framework for identifying the causes. Local and overseas legislation, regulations, case law, and policies are analysed to provide recommendations for reforms.

Findings

There are systematic failures such as workload issues, inadequate supervision, and the absence of continuing professional development (CPD) that contributed to the incidents. The regulations governing the operation of childcare centres and criminal laws against child abuse are long overdue for an update in Hong Kong. On the institutional side, this paper recommends enacting regulations that mandate CPD, lower the staff-to-child ratio, and strengthen the Social Welfare Department’s (SWD) supervisory powers over childcare centres. From the criminal law perspective, it is recommended that “reasonable chastisement” be abolished as a defence of corporal punishment, and that there be new offences for failure to report suspected child abuse incidents and causing or allowing the death/serious harm of a child.

Originality/value

The child abuse incidents, occurring in a childcare institution, have drawn wide public concern. Reform is required to protect vulnerable children and regain public confidence.

Details

Public Administration and Policy, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1727-2645

Keywords

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