Compensation

Summary of Compensation

Trade concessions granted by one nation to another in recompense for other trade concessions that have been withdrawn or suspended.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)

Forms of Criminal Punishment: Compensation

Introduction to Compensation

Certain punishments require offenders to provide compensation for the damage caused by their crimes. There are three chief types of compensation: fines, restitution, and community service.

A fine is a monetary penalty imposed on an offender and paid to the court. Most criminal statutes in the United States and Canada contain provisions for the imposition of fines. However, fines have not been widely used as criminal punishment because most criminals do not have the money to pay them. Moreover, fining criminals may actually encourage them to commit more crimes in order to pay the fines.

The term restitution refers to the practice of requiring offenders to financially compensate crime victims for the damage the offenders caused. This damage may include psychological, physical, or financial harm to the victim. In most cases, crime victims must initiate the process of obtaining restitution from the offender. Thus, when the criminal is prosecuted, the victim must inform the court of financial losses or medical expenses. Otherwise, the judge may fail to require restitution. Judges may impose restitution in conjunction with other forms of punishment, such as probation (supervised release to the community) or incarceration.

In the United States, the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 authorizes restitution (along with incarceration) as a punishment for individuals who violate federal criminal laws. Under this act, judges may impose restitution when initially sentencing offenders for federal crimes. Alternatively, restitution may be included as a condition of an offender’s parole program. (Prisoners who receive parole obtain an early release from incarceration and remain free, provided they meet certain conditions.) In most U.S. states criminal laws also authorize restitution as a punishment option. Criminals in Canada may also be required to pay restitution to victims for personal injuries or property damage.

Offenders sentenced to community service perform services for the state or community rather than directly compensating the crime victim or victims. Some of the money saved by the government as a result of community service work may be diverted to a fund to compensate crime victims. Courts may also sentence offenders to community service to defray a portion of the administrative expenses of prosecution. Judges and parole authorities have discretion to determine the nature of the community service to be performed by the offender.” (1)

Literature Review on Compensation: Pay and Benefits

In the Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy, [1] James A. Buford offers the following summary about the topic of Compensation: Pay and Benefits: The compensation systems in public organizations should deliver, pay, and provide benefits that attract and retain a competent workforce, build motivation, and control costs. Most public organizations have traditional, job-based pay structures and reward seniority; however, emerging approaches such as broadbanding and skill- and competency-based pay are gaining increasing acceptance, along with individual and group incentive programs to reward performance. In the area of benefits, conventional health insurance and defined benefit retirement plans still predominate, but escalating costs are a major problem, and many organizations are considering less-expensive alternatives including managed care and defined contribution retirement plans.

Compensation

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on compensation explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

Compensation

Compensation

Compensation

Resources

See Also

• Damages
• Accrued compensation
• Commission
• Daily rate of pay
• Deferred compensation
• Fee
• Golden parachute
• Incentive pay plans
• Profit-sharing plan
• Salary
• Unreasonable compensation
• Wages

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See Also

• Workers’ Compensation Acts

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See Also

• Just compensation

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Further Reading

• The entry “compensation” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press

Resources

Notes and References

1. Entry about Compensation: Pay and Benefits in the Encyclopedia of Public Administration and Public Policy (2015, Routledge, Oxford, United Kingdom)

See Also

Further Reading

• Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance (2018, Springer International Publishing, Germany)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Compensation in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Compensation

The Legal History of Compensation in Islamic Law

This section provides an overview of Compensation in Islamic Law

Resources

See Also

• Legal Biography
• Legal Traditions
• Historical Laws
• History of Law

Further Reading

• Compensation in Islamic Law in the Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Political and Legal History (Oxford University Press)
• Compensation in Islamic Law in the Dictionary of Concepts in History, by Harry Ritter
• A Short History of Western Legal Theory, by John Kelly

Spanish Translation of compensation

This is the legal translation of English to Spanish in relation to compensation and / or a definition of this topic: Compensación (in Spanish, without translation of the dictionary entry).

Compensation and the GATT Policy Negotiations

In relation to the GATT Policy Negotiations, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following explanation and/or definition of Compensation: Trade concessions granted by a GATT member to offset the disadvantage caused to other members whose exports are affected by its withdrawal or suspension of previously-agreed trade concessions or bindings. Compensation usually takes the form of reductions of tariffs on other products of commercial interest to the countries being compensated. See also consultations anddispute settlement.