Under the Constitution of India (Article 72), the President of India may grant pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving the death penalty. A similar and parallel power belongs to the governors of each state under Article 161. In Sri Lanka, under the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the President may grant a pardon, adjournment or lighter sentence for any sentence imposed on an offender convicted of a crime by a court of the Republic of Sri Lanka. It is commonly referred to as a presidential pardon. Pardons are sometimes seen as an anti-corruption mechanism that allows a particular authority to circumvent a flawed judicial process in order to release a person wrongly convicted. Pardons can also be a source of controversy. In extreme cases, some pardons as acts of corruption committed by officials in the form of effective immunity may be considered political favours. The first major court case with a pardon power, Ex parte Garland, 71 U.S. (4 Wall.) 333, 18 L.
Ed. 366 (1866), determined both the scope of the pardon power and the legal effect on a pardoned person. President Andrew Johnson pardoned untried Confederate lawyer and sympathizer Alexander Hamilton Garland for offenses he may have committed during the Civil War. Garland tried to practice in federal court, but federal law required him to take an oath that he had never helped Confederacy. Garland argued that forgiveness exempted him from the need to take an oath. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Garland. He noted that the scope of the pardon power “is unlimited, except [for impeachment]. It extends to any known offence of the law and may be committed at any time after it has been committed, either before the commencement of judicial proceedings, or during their pendence, or after conviction and verdict. A pardon is a government decision that allows a person to be exempted from some or all of the legal consequences of a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the jurisdiction. [1] [2] The forms and instructions required to apply for a pardon can be found on the Department of Rehabilitation and Penitentiary website. Pardon, by law, exemption from guilt or remission of sentence.
In criminal law, the power of pardon is usually exercised by the Chief Executive of the State. Pardons can also be granted by a legislative body, often through an early or retrospective act of compensation for illegal things done in the public interest. To forgive a person is to forgive a person for his actions. The pardon procedure is therefore not available to persons who maintain their innocence and is not an advanced form of appeal. In Australia, the traditional power of grace is called the Royal Prerogative of Mercy,[3] an executive power vested in the Queen and exercised by the Governor-General. [4] The prerogative of clemency is a broad discretionary power that can be exercised by a provincial governor acting on the advice of the State Executive Council and the Attorney General. [5] Australian courts may also exercise their traditional power to grant clemency if the circumstances of the accused or offence warrant reparation. [6] The right of pardon and the power to commute or remit sentences handed down by a court exercising criminal jurisdiction are vested in the President, but this power of commutation or surrender may also be delegated by law to other authorities. Article 89 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation confers on the President of the Russian Federation the right of pardon.
The chain of pardon committees maintains lists of persons eligible for pardon and forwards them to the President for signature. While President Boris Yeltsin has frequently used his power of grace (1998 – 7,000 to 8,000 cases), his successor Vladimir Putin is much more hesitant; He granted five pardons in 2014 and two in 2015. [29] A conditional pardon imposes a condition on the offender before it comes into effect. Typically, this means the transformation of a sentence. For example, under the pardon clause, the president has the power to commute a death sentence on the condition that the accused serves the rest of his or her life in prison without entitlement to parole, although a life sentence imposed directly by a court is otherwise subject to probation. In upholding this type of conditional pardon, the Supreme Court in Schick v. Reed, 419 U.S. 256, 95 pp. Ct. 379, 42 L.
Ed. 2d 430 (1974), argued that “considerations of public order and humanitarian impulse justify an interpretation of this [pardon] power permitting the addition of any condition that is not otherwise unconstitutional.” However, it is important to note that India has a unified legal system and there is no separate law. All crimes are crimes against the Indian Union. As a result, a convention has developed whereby the powers of the governor are exercised only for minor offenses, while requests for pardon and pardon for serious offenses and offenses committed in the territories of the Union are deferred to the president. However, a pardon does not erase the fact that a person has been convicted of a crime. The criminal record is not deleted, but it is kept separate from other criminal records (not pardoned). Similarly, under section 161: The Governor of a State has the power to grant pardons, pardons, pardons, pardons, pardons or repeals, or to suspend, respond to or commute the sentence of a person convicted of an offence under a law relating to a matter to which the executive branch of the State extends. Please note that the President may grant a pardon to a person sentenced to death.
But a state governor does not have that power. In Poland, Article 139 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland grants the President the right of pardon. As of October 2008, 7,819 persons had been pardoned and 3,046 had not been appealed. The Portuguese Constitution[26] empowers the President of the Portuguese Republic to pardon and commute judgments on the proposal of the Government of the Portuguese Republic. This is the exclusive and discretionary competence of the President and is not subject to conditions other than prior consultation with the Government, usually represented by the Minister of Justice. Requests or proposals for pardon are submitted by the Court for the Execution of Sentences upon presentation by the Ministry of Justice and then submitted to the President for consideration. Pardon is granted by presidential decree; If pardon is refused, the president decides by ordinance. Traditionally, pardons are granted during the Christmas period. The pardon may be revoked by the President of the Republic. (1) The President shall have the power to grant pardons, pardons, pardons, pardons or remission of sentences, or to suspend or commute the sentence to persons convicted of a criminal offence.
Government in the center and in the states is exercised on behalf of the president or governor. The President has the power to pardon under Article 72 of the Constitution of India. Article 72 provides that the President has the power to grant pardons, pardons, pardons, pardons, pardons or penalties, or to suspend, dismiss or commute the sentence of a person convicted of an offence. The meaning of these terms is as follows: the power to grant a pardon derives from the English system, in which the king, as one of his royal prerogatives, had the right to pardon virtually all forms of crimes against the crown. The framers of the United States Constitution provided in Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 that the President “shall have the power to grant pardons and pardons for crimes against the United States, except in case of impeachment.” Throughout U.S. history, courts have interpreted this clause as giving the president virtually unlimited powers to pardon individuals or groups and impose conditions for forgiveness. After the Kav-300 case, President Chaim Herzog pardoned four Shin Bet members before they were indicted. This unusual act was the first of its kind in Israel. For many serious offences (e.g. if the competent court has taken the offence so seriously that a direct custodial sentence has been imposed), pardon is not granted even if more than ten years have elapsed since conviction. The most widespread pardons concerned political figures. President Gerald R.
Ford`s pardon of former President Richard M. Nixon in September 1974 for all offenses he committed or implicated exempted Nixon from prosecution for his role in the Watergate scandal. President Ford justified the pardon as a way to restore peace to a nation that had spent two years in political turmoil. Forgiveness as an individual should not be confused with amnesty or general forgiveness, both general and abstract. L`amnistie a un effet rétroactif et concerne non seulement la peine infligée, mais aussi le crime passé lui-même, qui est oublié et considéré comme non pratiqué (abolition rétroactive du crime). General forgiveness focuses only on the punishments determined by the verdict decision and for the future. It is the reserved competence of the Portuguese Parliament to approve general amnesties and pardons. [28] Nine states in the United States have pardons and pardons committees that grant only all state pardons. Diese Staaten sind: Alabama (Board of Pardons and Parole), Connecticut (Board of Pardons and Parole), Georgia (Board of Pardons and Parole), Idaho (Board of Pardons and Paroles), Minnesota (Board of Pardons), Nebraska (Board of Pardons), Nevada (Board of Pardons), South Carolina (Probation, Parole and Pardon Board) and Utah (Board of Pardons and Parole).