ADDITIONAL PROPOSALS REGARDING THE COMPOSITION OF A WORLD GOVERNMENT (cont.)

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

The government which I have been herein humbly describing, and refer to as a "World Guiding Body," should also contain a Judicial branch, which might consist of, and perform functions similar to, the following:

1.  A uniform worldwide system of courts, for the purpose of dealing with criminal as well as civil legal proceedings, ought be established.  A uniform set of just rules and  procedures should be enacted governing such proceedings before these tribunals.

In criminal proceedings, the defendant should always be afforded the benefit of rights which include the specification of the charges against him, opportunity to make a full and free defense, as well as the right to retain counsel, present evidence, and cross-examine prosecution witnesses.  Present rules concerning prohibition of self-incrimination and double jeopardy, similar to those contained in the United States' criminal codes, should be made to apply.

In a unified world, with a single universal set of statutes and codes, it seems that concepts concerning jurisdiction (i.e., a political entity's sovereign power to make laws concerning acts which occur, or have effect, within its territory) would no longer exist.  Neither would extradition (whereby nation A would surrender a suspected or convicted criminal to nation B, regarding a crime committed in nation B); nor rendition (an equivalent of extradition, as between a pair of sub-national entities--such as the states of the United States).  However, rules concerning venue (whereby the appropriate place for trial of a criminal matter would be the locale wherein the crime was committed--tempered by concerns regardeing fairness to, and/or the convenience of, the defendant and witnesses) should continue to be a factor.

Rules proscribing excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments should also be universally adhered to .

I additionally recommend a simplification of the rules concerning admissibility and presentation of evidence, and regarding the conduct of formal trials, both civil as well as criminal.  The medieval atmosphere, and rules bearing similarity to those for a game of chess, ought be discard3ed for the sake of smooth, clear, and logical presentation to, and perception by, the Court, where people's destinies are being dealt with, and are thus at stake.

I would further venture to recommend that all issues of fact and law be adjudged by a Court consisting of three Judges, without benefit of a jury, in the conduct of civil as well as criminal proceedings.  Juries' verdicts are not dependable; nor do they uniformly conform to the type, quantity, and quality of the evidence presented before them.  Furthermore, the members of a jury are often biased from the outset (regardless of efforts to prevent this, via the "voir dire" process [interview of a panel of prospective jurors], questionnaires, pre-trial motions, "gag" orders, attempts to change venue, and resort to psychologically-oriented jury selection services).  Juries have occasionally committed gross error due to clever courtroom dramatics, exclusion of some key witness or evidence, or incompetent representation by counsel for one of the parties.  It is a consequently widely known fact that innocent persons have been sent to prison--and even to their deaths--while guilty parties have doubtless occasionally gone free.  Moreover, most civil litigators will readily tell you that jury verdicts have not always been absolutely fair or correct in cases they have handled as well.

Obvio0usly, Judges can likewise be mistaken, biased, or unduly influenced.  Thus, I would respectfully suggest as a possibility that a system be devised whereby three Judges hear a case; each issue a written verdict or opinion; which would thereupon be reviewed by the other two; and the three subsequently meet to jointly transform the aforesaid into a final decision.

2.  Tribunals should be established whose purpose and function would be the disposition of such disputes as should be brought before them by parties seeking resolution via binding arbitration.  Binding arbitration seems a preferred method for dealing with many, if not all, legal issues--both civil as well as criminal--by reason of its simplicity, directness, and absence of the many needless, confusing, and confounding traits which have continued to be carried over into twenty first century practice before our courts.

Consent by all parties to a civil dispute, or by the defendant in a criminal action, that the matter at hand be dealt with via binding arbitration would obviously need to be a prerequisite to its being disposed of in such a fashion.  Other than rare challenges, based upon charges of things like impropriety or gross error, determinations arrived at via proceedings in arbitration would not be subject to review or appeal.

3.  Additional tribunals ought also be established for the submission of many civil, as well as, possibly, some minor criminal proceedings, to voluntary mediation.  Many civil, and such lesser criminal matters as should be deemed appropriate for such treatment, might be dealt with, subject to established parameters and standards, in a more informal, flexible, and humane fashion. 

4.  Bodies for the consideration and disposition of administrative matters would also need to be established.  Included among such matters to be thus adjudicated would be actions, as well as failures or refusals to act, on the part of any and all administrative agencies that would be established as part of the World Planning Body (Executive branch, described a couple of days ago).

5.  Another function of the Judicial branch, which would be performed by a superior circuit of courts, would comprise:
a.  the entertainment of, and the reaching of determinations concerning, appeals from the highest of the aforementioned tribunals from which appeals should lie;
b.  challenges concerning conformity:
     i)  of determinations reached by the World Planning Body--as regards the World Constitution and/or existing legislative enactments;
     ii)  of legislative enactments--as regards the World Constitution, present legislative enactments, and/or prior determinations by the World Planning Body.

Procedural rules pertaining to practice before all of the above tribunals should be codified into a single worldwide set of rules and procedures, by a worldwide group of legal experts having exspertise and experience in the drafting of same.  Such a code would include rules concerning the commencement of proceedings, contents of pleadings, conduct of trial, rules re evidence and testimony, as well as rules and standards pertaining to appeals and challenges as hereinabove referred to.

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