in Esperanto
Chapter 4: SKETCH OF COMMUNIST SOCIETY -- ADMINISTRATION
6. A judicial system that does not judge will appear.
6.1. Communist judicial system
Montesquieu, who was the founder of the theory of the separation of the three powers and was himself a hereditary judge of the french Ancien Régime regarded the judicial power as a “terrible power,” and advocated a thorough suppression of it with the symbolic expression, saying “The judicial power is, so to speak, nothing.” He preached so figuratively because he knew that in a bourgeois state the judicial power could not literally be nullified.
The reason why judicial power cannot be nullified in the bourgeois state is that in a capitalist money economy, disputes over money, which is the "capital" for both individuals and businesses, will never cease. In fact, even crimes against life, such as murder, very often involve financial problems in the motive or background.
On the other hand, in a communist society where the monetary economy is abolished, disputes over money will naturally disappear. Nonetheless, if conflicts are an integral part of human society, the need for a judicial power to officially handle conflicts will not disappear.
However, the character of the judicial system will undergo a major change: the authoritarian system of the court, which judges people from the podium, as we have taken for granted, will disappear, and a dispute settlement system that does not judge people will appear in its place.
Such a dispute settlement system, which is broadly called the communist judicial system, is under the juridictin of the Commons' Convention, not the "independent" power, under the Commons' Convention system, which does not adopt the concept of separation of powers. It is one of the contents of commons' sovereignty. Below, I would like to sketch a part of it.
6.2. Equity Commissioner and Truth Commission
The two main pillars of the communist dispute settlement system are the Equity Commissioner and the Truth Commission. In any case, it is not a system that gives forced resolution from above in the form of a "judgment" like a traditional court system, but a system that aims for a more lenient arbitrational solution.
Equity Commissioners are judicial officers who intervene between the parties to the dispute, listen to the claims of both sides, and mediate in the event of civil or family disputes. As a general rule, the Equity Commissioners handle a case alone, but in complicated cases, two Commissioners can be in charge if necessary the Equity Commissioner system.
Since in a communist society the money economy will be abolished, disputes over money will naturally disappear, and most legal disputes are expected to be domestic disputes involving family and kinship, the Equity Commissioner should be suitable.
On the other hand, the Truth Commission is a collegial body responsible for clarifying the truth of crimes—which, as we saw in the previous article, come to be grasped as anti-social criminal acts in communist society—and , will be convened after a request by the tribune of due process, which will be described later. Its function is equivalent to clarification of the truth in a traditional criminal court, but it does not impose criminal penalties, but only clarifies and confirms the truth.
Equity commissioners are full-time offcers appointed from among lawyers in each commune, and truth commissioners are lawyers, experts suitable for the case, and ordinary citizens with representative licenses in each regional area. It is a part-time position that is appointed on a case-by-case basis. Equity commissioners and truth commissioners are both appointed by the Commons' Convention.
The Commons' Convention with the right to appoint is different between the federal zone and the unitary zone. In the case of the federal zone, both the federal Convention and the quasi-zonal Convention have dual rights, but in the case of the unitary zone, it is optional whether the zonal Convention or the provincial Convention has the right.
6.3. Correction and Probation Commission
One of the most important changes in communist society is the abolition of the system of punishment. If all crimes related to money, which account for the majority of crimes in capitalist society, are eradicated, the scientific recognition that the few remaining anti-social criminal acts are not crimes that should be sanctioned through punishment but rather pathologies that should be dealt with therapeutically has spread widely among the public. If that happens, new scientific systems of correctional treatment should be developed to replace the penal system.
In response to this, the Correction and Probation Commission will be established as a collegial body to impose correctional and probationary treatment on offenders. The purpose of this system is to impose optimal treatment on offenders through medical, psychological, and sociological investigations after clarification by the Truth Commission.
The Correction and Probation Commission is composed of experts with specialized knowledge of correction and probation. The right to appoint the Correction and Probation Commissioner shall be the same as for the Equity Commissioner and the Truth Commissioner.
6.4. Tribunes
A tribune is a public official with a long history in ancient Rome whose important mission was to protect the rights and interests of the common people, but it can be revived in a communist judicial system without courts.
The new tribune here is a supervisory judicial officer tasked with defending basic human rights and civil rights in modern times. In this respect, it is distinguished from the ancient Roman tribune, which was a political post.
The tribunes are divided into two types: the general tribunes, which have the widest range of authority, and the specialized tribunes, which have individual fields of expertise.
General tribunes are appointed by the Commons' Convention of each level and cover all institutions under the jurisdiction of the Commons' Convention, and also conduct complaints and dispute settlements concerning the application and enforcement of laws and regulations, and audit compliance with laws and regulations.
The most important specialized tribunes are those who specialize in due process of law: the tribune of due process. Its most important duties are in the field of criminal justice, issuing various compulsory investigation warrants such as detention warrants, search and seizure warrants, surveillance warrants for interception of communications, secret filming, etc., and the accompanying protection of the rights of suspects and victims. Its main duties include convening the Truth Committee and requesting reconsideration.
In addition, it is also responsible for issuing habeas corpus writs and directly releasing persons, who have been unlawfully or unjustly detained regardless of whether privately or publicly, at the request of the parties, their relatives, or the third parties.
A tribune of due process is appointed by the the Commons' Convention of the provincial area (in the case of the federal zone, the quasi-zone) by determining their jurisdiction for each district, but exercises its authority alone and independently of the Commons' Convention.
In addition, specialized tribunes include tribune for privacy, tribune for laborers, tribune for anti-discrimination, and commissioner for children, who are all appointed by the Commons' Convention of each regional area and extended commune (large city). It is possible to newly establish, consolidate and abolish as necessary according to the policy of each Commons' Convention.
6.5. Jurisprudence committee
In any dispute settlement process, disputes may arise over the interpretation of applicable laws. Under the thesis of separation of powers, it has become common knowledge that the interpretation of laws enacted by the legislature is wholly left to the judiciary, but the Commons' Convention system does not take such an undemocratic and irresponsible approach. There is a jurisprudence committee set up in each Commons' Convention as a body that deliberates disputes over the interpretation of laws.
While a jurisprudence committee is one of the standing committees of the Commons' Convention, it is a specialized committee that has the final power to interpret all laws and regulations except the Charter (constitution)*, and its members are all lawyers who hold the status of special delegate. A special delegate is an observer position that participates in the deliberations of the Convention, but does not have the right to vote.
*The interpretation of the Charter is handled by the charter committee, also a standing and specialized committee in charge of charter issues including its revision and interpretation. For this reason, the members of the charter committee are divided into general delegates and special delegates (judicial delegates) made up of lawyers who specialize in charter interpretation.
6.6 Impeachment Courts
In the communist judicial system without a court system, there is an impeachment court system for public officials as an exceptional one.
A typical example of this is a special court that examines illegal acts such as corruption and abuse of authority by delegates of the Commons' Convention and public officials appointed by the Commons' Convention. However, the judgment of the impeachment court is not a punishment, but is shown in the form of dismissal, suspension or deprivation of civil rights, so it is more like an administrative court than a criminal court.
The Impeachment Court of the Commons' Convention is a non-permanent court that is set up based on the resolution of the Commons' Convention in each level for each case. The prosecutors in charge of investigation and prosecution and the judges are composed of lawyers appointed by the Commons' Convention.
Other impeachment courts include the Special Human Rights Court, which is a non-permanent impeachment court that examines cases of human rights violations by public officials, and the permanent Corruption Tribunal for Public Officials, which examines cases of corruption of public officials and public figures equivalent to civil servants. However, these details are omitted here.
