Islam is “Surrender to
Allah”. It recognises Allah, the creator of the Universe, the fundamental
self-existent Reality as the Supreme Ruler and Law-maker.
Islam consists of three
layers – The Law, the Way and the Truth or the Discipline, the Faith and
Righteousness or the Practices, the Teaching and the Being - these are sometimes distinguished as .Shariat, Tariqat
and Haqiqat. These are interdependent. Though an appropriate State of Being leads to faith in
the Teaching and that leads to the Practices, the Discipline leads to the Faith
and Faith leads to Righteousness.
Islamic Law, the Shariat,
unlike secular law, deals with all aspects of life in a unified self-consistent
manner. This includes (a) the personal, spiritual and psychological, (b) the
social, which includes inter-personal relationships, sexual relationships, and civic,
cultural, political, and economic affairs, (c) interactions with the
environmental. It deals with the whole person, his being, thoughts, motives and
actions. It lays down the framework within which the welfare and development of
humanity can be maintained and enhanced. But these cannot be arbitrary. Social
order, for instance, must be the kind that provides the conditions in which
welfare is maintained and development can continue. This requires objective
knowledge not whims. It might be supposed, and it usually supposed in the
construction of secular law, that what is purely personal cannot concern anyone
else and should, therefore, be excluded from the Law. But this is a naïve view.
What a person does and what happens to him modifies the person. The modified
person then affects others directly by the kind of influences he radiates, but
also by his actions directly and through example.
Christianity under the
influence of Paul had abolished the Divine Law as brought by Moses despite
Jesus having said that he had come to fulfil the Law not to abolish it, and
that it could not be ignored (Matthew 5:17-18). This was a serious mistake,
which caused the West to adopt Roman law instead and that was designed by the
rulers to maintain their power and control the rest of the population. Islam
came to restore the Divine Law.
Our interactions with the
Universe provides us with experiences through the senses which affect and form
records of three kinds or aspects:- cognitive, affective and motor - in
thought, feeling and action. The senses provide us with raw data in the form of
characteristics and these have to be interpreted. The world we experience can
be regarded as having seven levels of interpretation:- (i) of objects; (ii) of
relationship between objects; (iii) of events and processes, (iv) of causes,
forces and their potentialities (v) of Laws, regularities and order (vi) of
Principles such as Justice, Compassion, Truth, Virtue etc.; (vii) of awareness,
motives, control, and autonomous existence. This is the order in which we
obtain knowledge, but the order of causation or creation is the reverse.
The first three may be
regarded as Mundane Stages with which the ordinary mind is concerned in its
daily affairs. The last three can be called the Heavenly stages that concern a
more abstract and universal form of thinking. The fourth is a bridge between
them and concerns the rational mind. Law by restricting the freedom of chaos and
randomness establishes the order and regularity by which things are recognised
and become predictable and controllable. However, the restriction of Laws is
not complete and a certain degree of freedom remains. Existence is a mixture of
order and disorder and one is recognised by contrast with the other. If there
was no freedom then there could be no change and evolution either.
Human beings as part of the
Universe are subject to the same levels. They are composed of its materials,
forces and laws and are dependent on it. But in so far as they have
consciousness and a degree of freedom of thought and action and live
interdependently in communities and with the rest of the world they also
require some objective ideas that correspond to the above levels. Motives and
actions must be based on these ideas. Communal life requires a consensus, the
acceptance of these by all. Human affairs must be governed by a common
perception and values that provide ideals and goals as well as order and
regularity but also by an understanding of variety and individuality. They have
an inbuilt need to benefit and fulfil themselves. They exist because of it.
But human beings are
capable of acting in a manner which does not accord with their nature and in
their own best interest. Ignorance, distorted motives or lack of ability caused
by fantasies, addictions, prejudices, rationalisations, impulsiveness, habits,
selective information, sentimentality, hysteria, emotionalism, social
conditioning, organisational malfunctions and environmental pressures affect
their thinking and judgement. Since human beings interact and affect each other
as well as the common environment on which all depend, then it is necessary to
create rules and enforce these. This is done for three purposes:- (a) To provide
rewards and punishments which simulate natural laws where pleasure and pain
result from interactions with the real world. (b) To act as barriers against
evil and harm while encouraging what is beneficial and good. This creates a
threshold which ought to prevent downward slipping and degeneration while
allowing progress (unless the law itself is allowed to erode or degenerate).
(c) To educate through experience of pain and pleasure, example and the
instructions contained in the formulation of the law.
A distinction exists
between natural laws as studied by science and Social Laws which are carried
out by man rather than by natural forces. However, human beings are as much a
product of Nature, and creations of Allah as are the Natural Laws. These Laws
arise from certain Fundamental Principles that exist before the Laws and give
rise to them. From the Islamic point of view the Universe was created for a
purpose. The purpose provides the values which govern the processes which bring
things into existence. Values are prior to facts, and facts are interpreted and
given meaning by means of values.
Values provide us with the
principles of morality, the study of which is Ethics. The fundamental values
that guide the creation of Laws are derived from the Attributes of Allah. The
main ones are Justice, Compassion and Truth.
Law differs from morality.
Morality is concerned with human evolution such that good and evil are defined
according to the benefits or harm done to the human soul. It is based on
Psychological laws and these are Natural Laws. It is a teaching which provides
values and ideals. Law on the other hand is socially enforced and must concern
itself with the practicalities of human weaknesses, tolerance, environmental
and social pressures, investigation, prosecution, trials, punishment and
rewards. Islamic Law must, however, be based on moral principles.
Islamic Law is derived from
the following sequence:- (1) It originates with the Commands of Allah. (2) Its
principles are recorded in the Quran (3) It is further interpreted, explained,
elaborated and adapted in the Sunna of the Prophet. (4) It is formalised in the
various Madhabs by Scholars using Qias (analogical reasoning). (5) It is
adopted and discussed through Ijma in the Muslim Assemblies. (6) It is carried
out through legal organisations such as judges and courts etc. (7) It is
applied in the communities with their support and participation and this will
depend on the conditions of life.
We can call the first three
the heavenly stages where revelation, inspiration and intuition operate. The
last three are the mundane or worldly stages where the ordinary human worldly
mind operates. Stage 4, which require the application of the human faculties
for intelligence and reason (Aql), also created by Allah, is a bridge between
them. The influence should descend from heaven onto the earth and quicken it so
that the growth ascends towards heaven. The Law should be something that gets
people to behave in a manner as if they were already regenerated. This would
cause a link or bridge to arise between their worldly minds and their higher
spiritual mind – the mind that had become dormant owing to sin and the Fall
from Paradise. There is, therefore, a
correspondence between the three levels of thinking and the three levels of
Islam, and the former is included in the latter because Islam deals with the
whole man and he consists of spirit, mind and body, and mind consists of
thought, feeling and action.
It is unfortunate that the
efforts of past Scholars have become sacrosanct for Muslims and Islamic Law has
stagnated. This may have been because of the fear that change in Law might lead
to degeneration rather than evolution. But man was given intelligence and
reason by the Creator to fulfil certain responsibilities as Vicegerent. In
fact, Islam only requires Muslims to surrender exclusively to Allah and the
Quran is guidance from Him. The Sunna of the Prophet can be regarded as
adaptations of the Quran for the conditions of the times and place he found
himself in. As such they can be regarded as guidance as to how this should be
done. Owing to this fossilisation at stage 4, the next three stages have been
neglected or corrupted.
The
existence of the Heavenly Stages makes Islamic Law objective. This means:-
(1) It must be
based on objective truths. This means that it must be
based on investigation and research. Investigation implies:- (a) that the Quran
and Sunna are studied. (b) that there should be prayer and meditation to
enhance the capacity for understanding. (c) that there should be a scientific
study of (i) human nature which has been created by Allah. (ii) the condition
of the society and (iii) its needs at the time and place and relationships with
others, the environment and the historical context. Unfortunately, these last
three, though obviously the creations of Allah, as is the Quran, have mostly
been ignored. Yet the Quran itself tells us that it is “ reminder to creation”
(68:52).
(2) Its purpose
must be objective. (a) The Law should be beneficial (i) to man, (ii) his
community and (iii) the environment on which he depends. (b) It must (i) prevent
harm occurring to them, (ii) facilitate their welfare and (iii) promote
development - it must facilitate greater inner integration, social integration
and adjustment to reality. (c) It must lead to the increase in correct
knowledge, motivation and capabilities (in consciousness, conscience and will)
by which human beings obtain their welfare. (d) It
should be just in applying to all equally. It cannot refer to the advantages of
a particular group in a particular place and time.
(3) The methods
employed must be objective. That is, they must be effective in attaining the
goals. (a) There must be methods of discovering what is going on regarding the
(i) crimes and malpractice, (ii) the needs and (iii) conditions, (b) correct
and efficient techniques for dealing with the situation and (c) efficient ways
of applying the techniques.
The Secular Law considers
human beings as supreme and this makes it subjective. Human beings differ in
their nature and circumstances. If one human being has the right to make laws
to suit himself then so do all others. The only way agreement and uniformity
can then be obtained is through power and coercion. Secular Law is, therefore,
usually based on whim, prejudice, expediency or the self-interest of those in
power and arises from the accident and vagaries of the power struggle. It is
obvious, however, that human beings are not supreme in the universe but
dependent on their own genes, their inherent instincts, reflexes, urges,
physiological and psychological processes, their physical environments, and the
nature of the materials, forces and laws of the Universe and also on the
social, cultural, economic, political, educational environments. It is also
obvious that the welfare and development of people will depend on the
knowledge, motives and skills they have and these must be objective. The
undisciplined desire for self-indulgence, arbitrary wealth, power or prestige
and pleasure which usually motivates secular ambitions are not objective goals
and will not achieve real goals, the true welfare and development of man. Human
beings misinterpret their own real needs and benefits through fantasy and
illusion and partial consciousness. But if they do so then they will waste
their energy in the pursuit of what affords no real satisfaction. Frustration
so caused leads to even greater effort to fulfil the misinterpreted need. This
results in more frustration, exhaustion and increasing malfunctions and disease.
The Law exists to protect
people. It does so by punishing those who flout the Law. To punish an offender,
however, is to do him harm, and, therefore, to do exactly what the Law forbids.
How can this be justified? The Western argument is something as follows:-
Human beings live in
communities on which they are dependent. Since the community consists of all
the individuals in it, then the Community is more important than any
individual. Therefore, the community, or those who represent it, has the right as
well as the power to act as an arbiter, a third factor, in the relationship
between any two individuals. It must intervene between the two persons who are
in disagreement, dispute or conflict. Methods, therefore, have to be adopted by
which the community (a) creates laws (b) administers the Law and (c) carries
out the punishment. The individual who carries out the punishment need not feel
guilty, should not obtain the satisfaction of revenge, or gain any personal
advantage from doing the harm. He is merely carrying out the will of the
community.
But this view cannot be
correct. The whole community is part of a greater reality and dependant on it.
It is perfectly possible for the whole community to be guilty because of the
kind of laws they have passed, the way it is administered and the harm they do
to the individuals unjustly punished. They pay for this guilt by the actual
social harm that is done. There is, in this secular view, no mention of
justice, compassion or truth. No distinction is made between the real and the
apparent. The society is being defined in a formal and superficial way, not
according to biological, social and psychological facts, but in a political
manner, in terms of opinions and desires. The Islamic view is that man does not
only interact with other human beings, but also with the rest of the world and
with himself, and in each case the real nature of things and the real effects
on them must be considered. If this is not done then the real consequences are
outside human control. The law must, therefore, be objective. It is defined in
terms of Allah, not in human or political terms.
It is evident, therefore,
that the Law can only be objective if (a) the educational level of the people
is raised (b) that there is equality of social status and free exchange of
information (c) that the purpose of the law is general benefit. In other words
the three Principles mentioned above are applied.
We have to distinguish
between Law as it exists and is applied in Muslim countries and an Ideal Islamic
Law. Current laws fall short of the ideal owing to the fact that they derive
from and apply to the past where there was less knowledge, education,
organisation and technology. There is no reason why Islamic Law should be
static. The religion came to transform man and his affairs. It is a
contradiction that the religion should then become a means to obstruct this. Human
beings, as vicegerents have been given the duty and the faculties to facilitate
development and progress.
Islamic Law should be based on the following principles:-
(1) Allah is the supreme Authority. Therefore, it is necessary to
determine what the Will of Allah is. In effect this means:- (a) (i) consulting
the revealed scriptures (ii) consulting nature - doing scientific research
(iii) Meditation and prayer. (b) Those who are most objective, because of
knowledge, virtue and capability, have the most right to formulate the law. (c)
The community as a whole and its circumstances constitute a fact and are
regarded as having been determined by natural forces and therefore, by Allah.
Their opinions, desires, requirements and ambitions have to be taken into
consideration. If this is not done then we have tension and tyranny that will
not only negate the aims of the law but also eventually destroy it. The Prophet
said that his community, as long as they followed correct guidance, would never
agree to what was wrong. The implication is that the general level of education
must be continually improved. This also includes the respect for learning and
the learned in a comprehensive sense, which includes knowledge, virtue and
ability.
(2) It is considered to be, and ought to be,
objective from ten points of view:- (i) The Law is made by Allah, the creator
of all things and has an objective purpose. (ii) The fundamental principles are
not made by the community or any member of it. It is, therefore, impartial.
(iii) The Islamic Law is based on human nature. (iv) It is spiritual in nature
and, therefore, takes into account universal principles. It is not based on
opinion, cultural conditioning, acquired habits or speculation. Certain values
are universally recognised and accepted. (v) The Islamic Law fits consistently
into a complete world view. There is no contradiction between the Doctrine, the
Law regulating human behaviour and the rest of life. There is no separation
between psychological, social and economic considerations, since all are
inter-dependant aspects of life. It does not separate law, morality, etiquette,
crime, civil offences and so on. It covers all aspects of life from birth to
death, including character, morals, habits, family relationships, social,
economic and political relationships, rights and duties, customs, manners and criminal,
civil and cultural matters. It creates a consistent whole just as man should
be. The purpose of the Law is the channelling of human energy in developmental
directions. This cannot be done if it leaks out in uncontrolled directions.
This would be like trying to direct water through a pipe full of holes. (vi) The
purpose of the Law is ultimately to fulfil a Cosmic purpose, that of Allah. The
aim is not primarily social order, or some other human purpose such as
commercial or political stability, technological progress or the maintenance
and exercise of power and control but psychological integration. (vii) The Law
is administered on behalf of Allah and does not, therefore, distinguish between
race, colour, nationality, status, rank, family, religion, ideology, prestige,
power, wealth. (viii) The Law is based on Justice, Justice being an attribute
of Allah. Justice should be done even if it is against a person’s own interest.
(ix) The Law requires persons who have the ability for objective scholarship.
But it is Democratic in that any one having the qualifications can interpret
it, and that all have the right to acquire such qualifications, and that apart
from the foundations laid down all other laws depend on the condition and needs
of the people, the times and circumstances of the place. Therefore,
consultation with and the consent of the people is required. The responsibility
of administering Justice is vested in the Community (Umma) collectively. This
follows from the respect for person as a Vicegerent, who cannot be treated as a
means but only as an end in himself. (x) It is sober in that it does not depend
on debate and haggling and power struggles, but requires research, meditation,
study and discussion between the learned experts on the Law, not politicians,
pressure groups, power seekers, or self-assertive arrogant loud mouths.
3. Man is a
Vicegerent. This has the following implication :- (a) He is accountable to
Allah only. (b) He has the right to self-determination, and to the use of his
faculties. (c) He has duties to do whatever is beneficial and avoid what is
harmful. Man is responsible (a) individually (b) in association and (c)
collectively.
He has a certain
Sphere of Influence. This includes himself, inwardly and outwardly, his family,
friends, those with whom he makes agreements, those who he comes in contact
with, his property, goods, land, animals and plants, and everything which he
affects or is affected by, according to the intensity of these effects.
4. He has the
right:- (a) To do whatever is beneficial to himself and all things within his
sphere of influence. (b) To seek the means to achieve these benefits. (c) To
make agreements and cooperate with others in achieving these benefits. (d) Not
to be interfered with, restricted or obstructed in what is beneficial by
others. (e) Not to be (i) compelled or coerced (ii) violated (iii) ignored as
to his welfare. (f) To protect and defend himself and everything in his sphere
of influence. (g) To retaliate against an injury done to himself or anything in
his sphere of influence.
5. He has the
duty:- (a) to respect, support and defend the same rights of all within his
sphere of influence. (b) to oppose any evil or harmful tendencies to anything
within his sphere of influence. (c) to acquire the knowledge of what is
beneficial. (d) to acquire the means, the knowledge and skills to do carry out
the above duties.
6. If there is a
contradiction between his rights and duties and those of others then he has the
duty;- (a) to consult, discuss, negotiate and make agreements, contracts or
treaties which are mutually satisfactory and beneficial. (b) To adhere to these
contracts. (c) To make efforts to settle all disputes and disagreements within
his sphere of influence.
7. This law must
apply to all, from those who rule to the most humble. If someone tries to
violate the rights and duties, a thief, for instance, then he must be presumed
to have accepted whatever risks are involved in the rights of their victims to defence
and retaliation.
8. Islamic Law should
also have the following features:-
(a) The Quran forbids only
a limited number of things. Everything not expressly forbidden is allowed. In
fact, the following categories are recognised:- The Virtues (Marufat) are classified
as :- 1, Mandatory (Fardh and Wajib) 2, Recommendatory (Matlub) The Neutral 3,
Permissible (Mubah). The Vices (Mankurat) are classified as :- 4, Makruh (disapproved)
5, Haram (forbidden). However, it is possible to distinguish 7 categories if we
divide the Mandatory ones into those which are always required and those which
are conditional, and if we divide the forbidden ones similarly. Theft, for
instance is forbidden but someone in dire need may be forgiven for it. Killing
is forbidden, but extreme provocation or self-defence may excuse it.
(b) No one is guilty unless
proved guilty. It is not the case that an accused person is guilty unless
proved innocent. This leads to oppression. In fact, it is a requirement that
those who accuse falsely should be prosecuted.
(c) The action is judged by
the motive behind it and the motive is judged by the faith behind it. The faith
must be correct. That is, it should be based on the Islamic teaching and value
system correctly understood.
(d) The law is based on
respect for the autonomy of the person as a vicegerent. A person has rights and
privileges but also obligations and responsibilities that are inherent in his
nature and existence as made by Allah.
(e) The Law is established
by (i) formulation, but mainly through (ii) education, (iii) example and (iv) organisational
conditions which encourage certain actions and discourage others. The
institution of Zakat (Obligatory Charity) for instance should prevent theft due
to need. Theft due to need is forgivable. Islamic Law is, therefore, flexible,
not formal in an unintelligent mechanical way and conditional. The number of
formal laws are required to be kept to the minimum and should not exceed a
number which people can remember or be more complex than people can understand.
(f) A distinction should be made in the
teachings of the Quran between:- (i) The primary or basic principles, the
foundations of ethics. e.g. the meaning of Surrender, Vicegerency, the nature
of man and his responsibilities, the nature of good and evil. (ii) The secondary principles, the means used to establish
the primary values. The Quran teaches Justice, but also compassion and Truth.
(iii) The tertiary principles, which are methods ensuring the operation of the
secondary values. This refers to the way things are organised and to the rights
and duties. (iv) The specific laws which prescribe punishment and reward for
specific actions or inaction.
The right to possess and
use something for ones benefit, for instance, is good. Theft, which negates
this, is bad. The prevention of theft is good, and constitutes a tertiary or
derived value. The methods used to prevent theft, the specific laws, become
good to the extent that they are effective, but they may have other
consequences which may be bad. It should be pointed out that though the Quran
sometimes prescribes very severe punishments, it also recommends mercy and
forgiveness, though it warns that this may lead to propagating more evil. In
that case forgiveness cannot be a good thing. The point, however, is that the
Islamic Law at the tertiary and specific levels is not immutable in its
application. The primary principles are established by religion and ignored in
secular systems. Differences of opinion seldom concern the secondary values.
Everyone knows, for instance, that murder, injury and theft are wrong.
Differences usually concern the tertiary and even more the specific ones. It is
only at the tertiary level that discussion, consensus and agreement is
required.
(g) A case could be argued
at all of the above levels. There is a difference between the letter of the
law, the principles and the Spirit. (i) It is not necessary that cases be
ignored when there is no suitable formal law to deal with new crimes,
misdemeanours or harmful acts arising from new forms of organisation and
technology. (ii) It should make it impossible for lawyers to take advantage of
loopholes in the Law that arise from literalism and difficulties of precise
verbal formulations. (iii) It is not necessary to formulate laws precisely
where precision also creates narrowness and inflexibility.
(h) All affairs should be
settled through mutual consultation, discussion and agreement between all
parties concerned in the affair. This means that all specialities are discussed
by the specialists concerned and all public matters are publicly discussed.
There is no secrecy and all public places are accessible by the public or its
representatives. All agreements, however, must take place within the moral
guidelines. All transactions require the consent of those involved and they
must be just. This implies that they must have full knowledge of all that is
implied. No transactions are legal which take advantage of the disabilities of
others e.g. low intelligence, ignorance, naiveté, illness, drunkenness, loss of
consciousness or dire need etc. It is illegal to put others into
disadvantageous positions through misrepresentation or fraud and other
dishonest means, or to create monopolies or scarcity by hoarding and so on.
(i) Islamic recognises
diversity and variety. It has five systems of law within itself and also
accommodated non-Muslim communities, which could abide by their own laws. It is
only necessary that:- (i) A person should choose a particular system or
community and be known as belonging to it. (ii) The sphere of jurisdiction,
which that community has over the individual, and the obligation the individual
has to that community should be understood. (iii) the Law of the State
determine the mutual obligations between these different communities.
(j) Islamic Law
often seems harsh and barbaric from the western point of view, e.g. the cutting
off of the hands of a thief. This can be answered as follows:- (i) Islam is
concerned with what is true, good, and useful rather than with what might be
regarded as uncivilized or old fashioned. (ii) The severity of the punishment
that a society gives to its criminals is a reflection of, and reflects, the
degree of disapproval with which it regards that crime. This also has an
educational affect in sustaining that disapproval. (iii) In Islamic Law a man
who is driven by necessity and desperation is not considered to be a criminal.
It is, therefore, the duty of that Society to see that there is no such
desperate need. Generally, the first offence is not punished so severely. The
severer punishments are reserved for the habitual criminals. If the legal
system is effective then no habitual criminals should arise, and the punishment
abolishes itself. (iv) Since everyone knows what the punishment for the crime
is, it is up to the criminal not to invite it. It can be presumed that the
criminal has accepted that his crime is worth the risk of the punishment. There
is no compulsion on the criminal that he should choose the punishment. (v)
Islamic Law contains a certain amount of flexibility. The Quran describes
limits which should not be exceeded, but need not be reached. (vi) Forgiveness
is taught in Islam. It is, therefore, quite possible to alter the severity of
the law. But forgiveness and leniency must not be allowed to lead to the
proliferation of the crime. To allow this to happen is not compassion since it
harms many people. Whereas compassion and charity are certainly taught in
Islam, wisdom is also necessary. Without it charity turns into its own
opposite.
(k) Islamic Law
should be based on:-
"O ye who believe! Retaliation (or the Law
of Equivalence) is prescribed for you. In cases of murder: the free for the
free, the slave for the slave, the female for the female; yet he who is
pardoned at all by the brother of the slain, then grant any reasonable demand
and compensate him with kindness. That is a concession and a mercy from your
Lord; and he who transgresses after that for him is grievous woe. In
retaliation (or the law of Equivalence) there is life for you, O ye possessors
of understanding! That ye may ward of evil." 2:178-179
The miscreants
(e.g. thieves) ought, therefore, to be made to pay or work to restore,
compensate or repair and undo the damage they have done, including the cost
incurred in investigation and trials. Incarceration in prison does no good, but
hardens criminals as well as jailers and puts a burden on the community. It is
clear that mercy and forgiveness are also allowed to modify the punishment.
(l) Justice
should be done swiftly, efficiently and openly in full public view. The cost
should be borne by the community as a whole to give it a vested interest. The
judges should be virtuous, able and impartial, well versed in the law and in
the sciences of Religion, Psychology, Sociology and Logic and have various
kinds of expertise in the specialties and aspects of economic, political, civic,
medical, educational and cultural life. There are no juries that might be
non-expert, motivated by irrelevancies, prejudices and have a low capacity for
rational thought or empathy. All interrogation must be done in front of neutral
or concerned witnesses.
The accused and
accusers may choose or be assigned lawyers who will investigate and present
their cases. But it is the Judges who do the questioning and allow the
disputants to have their say, arrive at judgments and explain their findings.
The Lawyers may use the services of the police force and direct the
investigations. Judgment can be of five types:- (i) Guilty, (ii) Guilty with
excusable circumstances, (iii) Unproved, (iv) Innocent but culpable, (v)
Innocent. If found unproved the case can be sent for further investigation.
Judges, Lawyers and Police have their own separate organizations and Central
Councils. The trials are recorded and the records should be passed to the
Central Council of the Judges Organization for confirmation or amendment. The Judges
Organization has its own educational and research facilities, formulates the
laws and appoints Judges, but is responsible to the Central Assembly and the
Head of the Community.
Except for some
permanent Officers, the Police, Military and the Public Works and National
Emergencies Department should consist of National Servicemen. This consists of
a percentage of the adult population, which gives its time for 6 months every 5
years in rotation for training and national service. This is justified on the grounds
that Law and defense is the concern for the whole population and it is
necessary to prevent the arising of separate insular groups which can be used
against the community to create tyrannies or manipulated to further someone’s
ambitions abroad. It is also possible to absorb the unemployed in return for
the social security benefits, which should not be free and demoralizing.
(m) The Head of
the Community can be represented by a Bureau of Guardians. This consists of
knowledgeable and able people with a well developed social conscience who are
employed full or part time by the community. These should gather information
about the state of the community and its institutions, its needs and problems,
and suggest solutions. They should have the power to go into all public places,
factories and offices at any time without warning and to settle disputes,
problems or injustices on the spot if possible. They pass recommendations to
the various authorities and the Central Council of their own organization. They
also have offices that are open to the public where complaints, suggestions and
information can be placed or information and advice can be obtained.