Amnesty

Amnesty in United States

Amnesty Definition

An act of oblivion of past offenses, granted by the government to those who have been guilty of any neglect or crime, usually upon condition that they return to their duty within a certain period. Express amnesty is one granted in direct terms. Implied amnesty is one which results when a treaty of peace is made between contending parties. Vattel, lib. 4, c. 2, §§ 20-22. Amnesty and pardon are very different. The former is an act of the sovereign power, the object of which is to efface and to cause to be forgotten a crime or misdemeaner; the latter is an act of the same authority, which exempts the individual on whom it is bestowed from the punishment the law inflicts for the crime he has committed. 7 Pet. (U.S.) 160. Amnesty is the abolition and forgetfulness of the offense; pardon is forgiveness. A pardon is given to one who is certainly guilty, or has been convicted; amnesty, to those who may have been so. Their effects are also different. That of pardon is the remission of the whole or a part of the punishment awarded by the law, the conviction remaining unaffected when only a partial pardon is granted. An amnesty, on the contrary, has the effect of destrojring the criminal act, so that it is as if it had not been committed, as far as the public interests are concerned. Their application also differs. Pardon is always given to individuals, and properly only after judgment or conviction. Amnesty may be granted either before judgment or afterwards, and it is in general given to whole classes of criminals, or supposed criminals, for the purpose of restoring tranquility in the state; but sometimes amnesties are limited, and certain classes are excluded from their operation. See Phil. (N. C.) 247.

Amnesty in Foreign Legal Encyclopedias

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Amnesty Amnesty in the UK Legal Encyclopedia.
Amnesty Amnesty in the Australian Legal Encyclopedia.

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Amnesty Amnesty in the Family Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
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Amnesty Amnesty in the Antritrust Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Amnesty Amnesty in the Bankruptcy Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Amnesty Amnesty in the Constitutional Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
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Amnesty Amnesty in the and Finance and Banking Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
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Amnesty Amnesty in the Personal Injury and Tort Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.
Amnesty Amnesty in the Environmental Law Portal of the American Encyclopedia of Law.

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Legal Issue for Attorneys

An act of oblivion of past offenses, granted by the government to those who have been guilty of any neglect or crime, usually upon condition that they return to their duty within a certain period. Express amnesty is one granted in direct terms. Implied amnesty is one which results when a treaty of peace is made between contending parties. Vattel, lib. 4, c. 2, §§ 20-22. Amnesty and pardon are very different. The former is an act of the sovereign power, the object of which is to efface and to cause to be forgotten a crime or misdemeaner; the latter is an act of the same authority, which exempts the individual on whom it is bestowed from the punishment the law inflicts for the crime he has committed. 7 Pet. (U.S.) 160. Amnesty is the abolition and forgetfulness of the offense; pardon is forgiveness. A pardon is given to one who is certainly guilty, or has been convicted; amnesty, to those who may have been so. Their effects are also different. That of pardon is the remission of the whole or a part of the punishment awarded by the law, the conviction remaining unaffected when only a partial pardon is granted. An amnesty, on the contrary, has the effect of destrojring the criminal act, so that it is as if it had not been committed, as far as the public interests are concerned. Their application also differs. Pardon is always given to individuals, and properly only after judgment or conviction. Amnesty may be granted either before judgment or afterwards, and it is in general given to whole classes of criminals, or supposed criminals, for the purpose of restoring tranquility in the state; but sometimes amnesties are limited, and certain classes are excluded from their operation. See Phil. (N. C.) 247.

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Notice

This definition of Amnesty Is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This definition needs to be proofread..

Amnesty

United States Constitution

According to theEncyclopedia of the American Constitution, about its article titled 464 AMNESTYAmnesty is the blanket forgiveness of a group of people for some offense, usually of a political nature. Although there is a technical distinction between an amnesty, which “forgets” the offense, and a pardon, which remits the penalty, historical practice and common usage have made the terms
(read more about Constitutional law entries here).

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See Also

  • Legal Topics.
  • Further Reading (Books)

    Baskir, Lawrence M. and William A. Strauss. Reconciliation After Vietnam: A Program of Relief for Vietnam Era Draft and Military Offenders. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dam
    e Press, 1977.

    Polner, Murray, ed. When Can I Come Home? A Debate on Amnesty for Exiles, Antiwar Prisoners, and Others. New York: Anchor Books, 1972.

    Schardt, Arlie, William A. Rusher, and Mark O. Hatfield. Amnesty? The Unsettled Question of Vietnam. Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Sun River Press, 1973.

    ThomasReins

    Further Reading (Articles)

    Amnesties in a Time of Transition, The George Washington International Law Review; October 1, 2010; King, Elizabeth B. Ludwin

    Amnesty and Delhi Differ Over Report, India Abroad; August 26, 1994; Sanjay Suri

    Amnesty: Buzzword in Immigration Debate, AP Online; May 18, 2007

    Amnesty: Mideast executions boost 2011 global toll, AP Online; March 26, 2012; PETER JAMES SPIELMANN

    Amnesty focal point of debate on immigration, Oakland Tribune; May 19, 2007; David Crary, Associated Press

    Amnesty Ends on Positive Note, Khaleej Times (Dubai, United Arab Emirates); February 4, 2013

    Amnesty International targeted on abortion by religious groups, The Charleston Gazette (Charleston, WV); July 25, 2006; Brian Murphy

    Amnesty members split on abortion, The Irish Times; July 14, 2006

    Amnesty Report Hits India Hard: Geneva U.N. Commission, India Abroad; March 3, 1995; Sanjan Suri

    Amnesty Infomercial, Review – Institute of Public Affairs; September 1, 1999; Phelps, Peter

    AMNESTY – STRATETIC PLAY: The human touch.(Amnesty International)(Organization overview), New Media Age; January 25, 2007

    Amnesty International, the Catholic Church, and Some Profound Questions of Life and Death, The Independent (London, England); August 31, 2007; Lawson, Dominic

    AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL’S TWENTY YEARS WITH CHARLES TAYLOR. States News Service; May 30, 2012

    Amnesty Lights New Fuse on Kashmir, India Abroad; September 15, 1995; Sanjay Suri

    California Amnesty Bill Targets Collection of Unpaid Taxes. San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, CA); April 12, 2004

    Bath Amnesty joins in the celebrations, Bath Chronicle, The; May 26, 2011

    AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL’S 40 CHALLENGING YEARS, The Boston Globe (Boston, MA); September 4, 2001; JONATHAN POWER

    Tax amnesty programs and voluntary compliance initiatives: a way to mitigate declining state revenues. The Tax Adviser; June 1, 2009; Weinreb, Adam Stuart

    Illinois Tax Amnesty Signed Into Law… Again. Mondaq Business Briefing; August 26, 2010

    Amnesty International is losing its way, Jerusalem Post; June 14, 2011; GERALD STEINBERG JASON EDELSTEINGERALD STEINBERG and JASON EDELSTEIN


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