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UNCJIN | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Guiding Principles for Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in the Context of Development and a New Economic Order Adopted by the Seventh Crime Congress, Milan, 26 August-6 September 1985, Changes in national economic and social structures should be accompanied by appropriate criminal justice reforms. International cooperation should be encouraged to foster balanced economic development,
through restructuring of the international economic system, with due emphasis on crime prevention and the proper functioning of criminal justice systems. Policies for crime prevention and criminal justice should take into account the structural causes, including socioeconomic causes, of injustice. New directions and approaches should be explored regarding crime-related concepts, measures, procedures and institutions. Member States should refrain from committing acts aimed at harming
the development of other countries and should assist each other in crime prevention and criminal justice efforts. Crime prevention as a global phenomenon should not be confined to common criminality, but should also address especially harmful crimes, including economic crime, environmental offenses, illegal drug trafficking, terrorism, apartheid and other comparable crimes. Special protection against criminal negligence should be ensured in matters concerning public health, labor
conditions, exploitation of natural resources and the environment and the provision of consumer goods and services. Laws governing the functioning of business enterprises should be reviewed and strengthened as necessary, and consideration should be given to having complex cases of economic crime heard by judges familiar with business procedures. States should give due consideration to making institutions as well as individuals criminally responsible. More appropriate penalties for
economic crimes should be established where existing measures do not correspond to the gravity of those offenses. Economic penalties should be graded to ensure that they are equally exemplary for both poor and wealthy offenders. Measures should be taken to provide crime victims with effective legal protection, including compensation for damages resulting from crime. Crime prevention strategies should be formulated in relation to the socioeconomic context, the society's developmental
stage and its traditions and customs. Legal systems, including criminal justice, should be instrumental in promoting beneficial and equitable development. While protecting human rights and promoting social justice, improvements in crime prevention effectiveness and criminal justice policies should be encouraged through consideration of alternatives to incarceration and judicial intervention. Equality, fairness and equity in the processes of law enforcement, prosecution, sentencing and
treatment should be ensured so as to avoid discriminatory practices based on socioeconomic, cultural, ethnic, national or political backgrounds, sex or material means. Safeguards should be established concerning the use of modern technology and computer systems so as to avoid possible violations of the right to privacy and other human rights. International cooperation should be "less cumbersome and more effective" in areas such as extradition of offenders, investigative and
judicial assistance and transfer of foreign prisoners. Technical and scientific cooperation should be increased. | |||||
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