Criminal and civil law

The preceding paragraphs show tiiat it is necessary to consider criminal and civil law, 

Criminal cases in England are heard in the magistrates courts and in the Crown Court in Scotland mostly in the Sheriff Court, and in the High Court of Justiciary. In Northern Ireland criminal cases are tried in magistrates courts and in the Crown Court. In all three countries the more serious criminal cases are heard before a jury, except in Northern Ireland for scheduled offences under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act of 1996. 

The burden of proving a criminal charge is on the prosecution and it must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. However, if, after the incident at Hazards, Instepp prosecutes, alleging breach of, say s. 2 of HSWA, then 

Hazards must show that it was not reasonably practicable for the company to do more than it did to comply (s. 40 HSWA). This sechon puts the burden on the accused to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that he had complied with a practicable or reasonably practicable statutory duty under HSWA. 

The rules of evidence are stricter in criminal cases, to protect the accused. Only exceptionally is hearsay evidence admissible. In Scotland the requirement of corroboration is stricter than in English law. 

---

Because there is no "federal law of trade secrets," protection of trade secrets is often left to the variabHity of the criminal and civil laws of the 50 states. To the extent that a trade secret is property, violation, theft, or misappropriation of the trade secret may be the subject of criminal penalty. To the extent that a trade secret is bound to rights, violation or misappropriation of the trade secret may be the subject of civil penalty. Significant effort, however, has been made in developing a uniform body of law to apply to ideas and innovations which may be the subject of this form of protection. 

Compare and contrast the adversarial system and the scientific method. List the strengths and weaknesses of both in the context of criminal and civil law. 

As discussed in Chapter 1, all employers have duties imposed by both criminal and civil law. In criminal law any employer has a general duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of his employees while they are at work. In addition, employers have a similar statutory duty to ensure, again so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of any other persons who may be affected by his work undertaking. 

The system of the courts which enforce both criminal and civil law and the details of types oflaw vary between England and Wales on one hand and Scotland on the other. The legal system is served by three... 

Federal regulations (40 CFR 261) classify acrylonitrile as a hazardous waste and it is Hsted as Hazardous Waste Number U009. Disposal must be in accordance with federal (40 CFR 262, 263, 264), state, and local regulations only at properly permitted faciUties. It is Hsted as a toxic pollutant (40 CFR 122.21) and introduction into process streams, storm water, or waste water systems is in violation of federal law. Strict guidelines exist for clean-up and notification of leaks and spills. Federal notification regulations require that spills or leaks in excess of 100 lb (45.5 kg) be reported to the National Response Center. Substantial criminal and civil penalties can result from failure to report such discharges into the environment. 

The site NFA and other gun law related info and cares has handily compiled a large collection of gun-related federal and state cases, criminal and civil, as well as a lot of other material on gun laws including NFA (National Firearms Act) dealer registration http //www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/ cs/usr/wbardwel/public/nfalist. 

European jurisdictions have traditionally been resistant to the notion of corporate criminal liability. Civil law penal codes have tended to draw rigid distinctions between criminal and administrative law and to conceive of the former as only applicable to natural persons, in line with Kantian ideals of individualism (Weigend 2008 929) as legal fictions, corporations cannot be said to possess any moral capacity in their own right, separate from that of those individuals who constitute it (Orland and Cachera 1995 112 Weigend 2008 937). For continental jurists. 

Matching the two types of law, i.e. statute and common, are two sets of court hierarchy, i.e. criminal and civil. 

There are two sub-divisions of the law that apply to health and safety issues criminal law and civil law. 

Forensic science can be broadly defined as the application of science to law. It is more commonly applied to those laws (criminal and civil) that are enforced by police agencies in the criminal justice system. Specifically, it is the application of the principles of chemistry and related sciences to the examination of physical evidence collected at the scene of a crime, and the interpretation of the results of that examination in a court of law by an expert. 

To have the OH S regulatory and enforcement agency clearly identified and associated with the issues of employment and industrial relations puts it in the category of contractual, employment and civil law rather than criminal law. This detracts from the impact and influence of the OH S legislation and confuses the community as to where these obligations fit. 

In addition to the criminal and civil courts there is a further court system dealing with employment law. However, the role of this system has been extended to incorporate appeals against safety enforcement notices and disputes between safety representatives and employers. 

Product liability refers to a system whereby a producer (manufacturer, designer, importer, etc.) may incur both criminal and civil liability for a defective product. Criminal law expects the producer to do all that is reasonably practicable to ensure that his products are safe when used properly. It is not necessary for injury to occur. Proof of risk of such injury is sufficient. Civil liability varies according to whether the product causes injury or not. Typical situations with a potential to cause loss and/or injury to purchasers and users of products are outlined below. 

Webster s Dictionary defines a standard as something established by authority, custom, or general consent as a model or example and states that standard applies to any definite rule, principle, or measure established by authority (standards of behavior) (Webster s, 2003). From a contemporary managerial perspective, standards of conduct for a pharmacist and for the operation of a pharmacy are derived both from laws and from professional standards or values. Standards for professional conduct and the operation of a pharmacy, whether stated formally in statutes and regulations or present in professional codes of ethics, are important for managers to understand and apply. Violations of these standards can affect the licensure status of a pharmacy practice site and/or its pharmacists, may result in litigation if a patient is harmed subsequent to a violation, and in the most serious cases can result in criminal prosecution. Both criminal prosecution and civil liability resulted in the case of Robert Courtney, the pharmacist discussed in the scenario. Courtney was sentenced to 30 years in prison, fined 25,000, and ordered to pay 10.4 million in restitution to the patients and families affected. These penalties were in addition to the civil judgment of 2.2 billion (Stafford, 2002). 

---