Three New Criminal Laws
In Deloitte's latest article, discover the impact of India's
three new criminal laws, effective July 1, 2024. These laws, replacing the IPC, CrPC, and Indian Evidence Act, promise a more contemporary, concise, and accessible legal framework, enhancing forensic investigations and aligning with current societal needs.
Learn how these Three New Criminal Laws will shape the
future of criminal justice in India
Read More Deloitte India's Latest Article on Three New
Criminal Laws
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Key Features Of India's 3 New Criminal Laws
India is getting ready to implement three revolutionary criminal laws on July 1, 2024, with the ultimate goal of substituting outdated Colonial-era laws with modern legal framework. Three new criminal laws address concerns about expanding authority over police while introducing new security precautions like Zero FIR and faster trials. As the country makes painstaking preparations, such as training initiatives and technology advancements, it expects a revolutionary change toward a more effective and equitable legal system that prioritizes justice delivery in a timely manner.
Last December, the Parliament passed three pivotal legislative acts: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act (BSA). These groundbreaking laws are set to supplant the Indian Penal Code (IPC) of 1860, the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) of 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, respectively. Thus, the three new criminal laws in India now include a number of new provisions tailored to the needs of modern technology.
Significant changes and provisions
The new legislation include a number of innovative measures designed to improve the effectiveness and equity of the legal system:
Innovative Legal Procedures
Embracing features like Zero FIR empower individuals to file complaints at any police station. Thus, this capability enhances the accessibility of legal recourse for individuals.
Technological Advancements
The goals of electronic summons services and online police complaints are a great initiative to improve communication and decrease paperwork.
Swift Judicial Processes
Timely delivery of justice is emphasized by strict deadlines for formulating charges within 60 days and delivering trial rulings within 45 days.
Protection for Vulnerable Groups
Specific rules that guarantee sensitive treatment and speedy medical evaluations for crimes against women and children.
Expanded Offenses
Along with a thorough definition of terrorism, definition updates cover new offenses such group rape of minors and false promises of marriage.
Key features of new criminal law
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
In the corporate context, the legal penalties primarily apply to situations including:
Misconduct, cheating or fraud
Criminal misappropriation
Betrayal of faith
Fraud and use of forged papers
The provisions that define these offenses have essentially remained unaltered.
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
Explains several other kinds of electronic proof
Grants judges and law enforcement officials the authority to summon witnesses in digital evidence situations
Clarification of the relevant jurisdictions in cases of cheating involving electronic methods of deception.
Gives courts the authority to request electronic submissions in situations involving large amounts of paperwork.
BharatiyaSakshya Adhiniyam
The definition of 'document' has been expanded to encompass electronic and digital records, along with the provision of specific examples of such records.
The definition of documentary evidence has been expanded to include electronic and digital records.
Electronic evidence obtained from 'proper custody' is considered to be critical evidence.
Expand the scope of the term 'Experts' to cover further fields of competence.
In-depth Details of Three new criminal law
The Indian criminal justice system is being redesigned by the new laws. They want to modernize and replace the outdated colonial laws by prioritizing national security, implementing equity through a victim-centric approach, and adopting digital and electronic evidence reviews.
We put together a quick document that outlines the important parts of these laws and gives you a plan to reduce legal risks, improve how you operate and investigate, and make your review and response to corporate matters more efficient.
Check And Balance On Police Powers
The BNSS has imposed a further requirement on the state government to nominate a police officer who will be in charge of keeping records on all arrests and who made them in order to prevent the abuse of regulations pertaining to police arrests. The provision mandates that district headquarters and each police station have visible displays of this information.
Fighting Crime Against Women
With the introduction of electronic First Information Reports (e-FIRs), the BNS pioneers a revolutionary method for reporting crimes against women. This facilitates rapid submission of crimes that require urgent care. The digital platform represents the spirit of established legal principles that emphasize prompt reporting and enable quick reporting, overcoming old restrictions.
Reducing Overcrowding In Prisons
Under some conditions, the maximum length of imprisonment for prisoners has been lowered for first-time offenders, and the jail superintendent is now legally permitted to assist accused individuals or criminals in requesting bail.
If an individual has served one-third of the maximum term allowed, they will be freed on bail as a first-time criminal (never having been found guilty of any crime before).
Technology
Technology is now used at every level by the BNSS, from visiting crime scenes to conducting investigations to holding hearings. It is revolutionary because it will guarantee a speedy conviction and openness in the inquiry. Utilizing the power of contemporary scientific technologies and modernizing the criminal justice system are two important goals of integrating technology and forensics into investigations.
In order to mitigate the risk of evidence tampering, it is imperative to incorporate the compulsory use of audio-video recording in search and seizure procedures within the BNSS. The audio-video recording requirement during search and seizure should encompass the complete process of documenting the confiscated items and obtaining the signatures of witnesses, ensuring transparency and accuracy throughout the proceedings.
In search and seizure proceedings, transparency plays a crucial role in preventing the fabrication of evidence and ensuring the presence of independent witnesses.
Last words
Lastly, these newly proposed laws are designed to modernize and replace the existing Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and Indian Evidence Act. The aim is to introduce updated provisions that are specifically tailored to address the current legal requirements and challenges.
Read More Deloitte India's Latest Article on Three New
Criminal Laws
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एक जुलाई से बदल जाएंगे देश के तीनों आपराधिक कानून, ट्रायल कोर्ट को तीन साल में देना होगा फैसला
एक जुलाई से बदल जाएंगे देश के तीनों आपराधिक कानून, ट्रायल कोर्ट को तीन साल में देना होगा फैसला
Bihar News: पूरे देश के साथ-साथ बिहार में भी एक जुलाई से तीन नए आपराधिक कानून लागू हो जाएंगे. केंद्र सरकार ने इससे जुड़ी अधिसूचना शनिवार को ही जारी कर दी है. इधर इसको देखते हुए बिहार पुलिस मुख्यालय स्तर पर अपने 137 पुलिस अधिकारियों को इन तीन नए कानून की विस्तृत जानकारी प्रशिक्षण के ज़रिये दी जा रही है.
इस बात की जानकारी एआईजी (AIG) कल्याण विशाल शर्मा ने दी है. इनके मुताबिक इस प्रशिक्षण का आयोजन…
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‼️🇵🇸🌍 A compilation of positive reactions to the ICC move: Countries and Human Rights groups
[Plain text: A compilation of positive reactions to the ICC move: Countries and Human Rights groups]
🔹 Small summary:
🇳🇴 Norway is the first European Country to say that, if an arrest warrant is issued, Netanyahu will be arrested.
🇿🇦 The South African president says “the law must be applied equally to all in order to uphold the international rule of law, ensure accountability for those that commit heinous crimes and protect the rights of victims”
🇨🇳 China’s foreign ministry calls for an end to the "collective punishment of the Palestinian people", hoping ICC “will uphold its objective and impartial position and exercise its powers in accordance with the law”
🇫🇷 France’s foreign ministry says country “supports the International Criminal Court, its independence, and the fight against impunity in all situations”
🇧🇪 Belgium’s foreign ministry says “Crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of the perpetrators”
🇸🇮 Slovenia’s foreign ministry says “"Accountability is crucial to prevent atrocities and to guarantee peace”
🇨🇭 Switzerland’s permanent representative of Switzerland to the UN says Switzerland “fully supports the court and stresses the importance of respecting its independence”
🇵🇸 Palestinian Rights Groups welcome “landmark” ICC decision, call for an additional charge of Genocide to be added
🇮🇱 B’Tselem, an Israeli humans rights groups, says “Era of impunity for Israel’s leaders is over”
🔸 Source: Al Jazeera
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An illegal toxic dump site in Croatia, the theft of water from a major aquifer in southern Spain, illegal trading of ozone-depleting refrigerants in France: This is just a sampling of the environmental crimes that European countries are struggling to stop. The lack of accountability for these acts stems in part from the European Union’s legal code, which experts say is riddled with vague definitions and gaps in enforcement. That’s about to change.
Last week, EU lawmakers voted in a new directive that criminalizes cases of environmental damage “comparable to ecocide,” a term broadly defined as the severe, widespread, and long-term destruction of the natural world. Advocates called the move “revolutionary,” both because it sets strict penalties for violators, including up to a decade in jail, and because it marks the first time that an international body has created a legal pathway for the prosecution of ecocide.
“This decision marks the end of impunity for environmental criminals and could usher in a new age of environmental litigation in Europe,” wrote Marie Toussaint, a French lawyer and EU parliamentarian for the Greens/European Free Alliance group, on X...
The new directive uses the term “ecocide” in its preamble, but does not criminalize the act by laying out a legal definition (the most widely accepted definition of ecocide was developed by an international panel of experts in 2021). Instead, it works by providing a list of “qualified offenses,” or crimes that fall within its purview. These include pollution from ships, the introduction of invasive species, and ozone depletion...
The new law holds people liable for environmental destruction if they acted with knowledge of the damage their actions would cause. This aspect of the law is important, experts said, because it means that a permit is no longer enough for a company to avoid culpability.
“If new information shows that behavior is causing irreversible damage to health and nature – you will have to stop,” a member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands, Antonius Manders, told Euronews.
Advocates like Mehta hope that the EU’s move will have influence beyond Europe’s borders. The principal goal of the Stop Ecocide campaign is for the International Criminal Court to designate ecocide as the fifth international crime that it prosecutes, after crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes of aggression, and genocide. At the moment, environmental destruction can only be prosecuted as a war crime at the ICC, and limitations in the law make this extremely difficult to do...
Kate Mackintosh, the executive director of the Netherlands-based UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe, told Grist that the ICC is unlikely to adopt an ecocide law if other countries do not do so first.
“It’s not something you can just pull out of thin air,” she said, adding that any international legal doctrine has to have a precedent on the national level. “That’s the way states are going to accept it.”
The EU’s 27 member states will have two years to adapt the new legislation into their penal codes. Afterwards, their implementation must be reviewed and updated at least once every five years using a “risk-analysis based approach,” to account for advancements in experts’ understanding of what might constitute an environmental crime. Mehta said that despite its omission of some important offenses, the law sets an important example for other countries. Several days before the EU vote, Belgium adapted its criminal code to include the directive, making it the first country in Europe to recognize ecocide as a crime.
The ruling “shows leadership and compassion,” Mehta said. “It will establish a clear moral as well as legal ‘red line’, creating an essential steer for European industry leaders and policy-makers going forward.”
-via Grist, March 6, 2024
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