Ethics Case Studies

Answer: The case study pertains to the correctness of the provision of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 which gives the Juvenile Justice Board the power to assess whether the perpetrator of a heinous crime aged between 16 and 18, had acted as a ‘child’ or as an ‘adult.’ The board will be assisted in this process by psychologists and social experts.
(a) Possible factors that can drive a child towards committing heinous crimes are following:

• Social: Social factors are undergoing changes due to urbanization, globalization and cultural changes.
  • Family: Broken homes, father’s work habits, cohesiveness of the family, relations between parents, affection of siblings, standards of home, parent’s discipline and affection etc. play a very important role in defining the behaviour of a child.
  • School and peer group relations: After family, the child spends most of its time in the school and with his friends. It can supplement the role of the family in enhancing values.
• Economic factors: In case of India, socio-economic injustice combined with violence and abuse is the major factor in breeding juvenile delinquency. Persistent unemployment and low incomes of families increases the likelihood of children’s involvement in any kind of criminal activities and unethical behaviour.
• Bad cultural influences: Cinema and Television have emerged as strong attractions for children in recent times. Sometimes, their content glorifies anti-social behaviour as heroic and exposes children to all kinds of criminal acts. Children, having an impressionable mind, are ill-equipped to differentiate what is good from bad.
• Individual factors: It includes certain personality traits like feeling of insecurity, fear, lack of self-control, emotional conflict etc.

(b) The debate on whether a child in conflict with law (CCL) should be treated as an adult often remains a contentious issue with both sides having some strong arguments. A CCL should be tried as an adult, because:

• Even though they are treated as juveniles because of their age, they have increasingly been found to be involved in heinous crimes in recent years. For examples, Nirbhaya rape case, Lucknow PubG murder etc.
• It is arbitrary that a person aged 17 years and 364 days will be tried as a juvenile while an 18 year old will be tried as an adult for the same crime.
• It provides a measure of consistency for the severity of the crime and also gives due seriousness to the severity that they deserve.
• It gives a sense of justice to the victims whose fundamental and legal rights have been violated.

Notwithstanding the above arguments, a CCL should not be tried as an adult, because:

• No one is born a criminal. Research has proved that the conditions are provided by the environment in which children are reared that dispose them towards antisocial behaviour.
• It is the duty of the state and society to provide equal opportunities for development of all children during the period of their growth, which would reduce inequality and ensure social justice.
  • Their failure to do so leads to conditions that are associated with juvenile crimes, such as: poverty; drug abuse; anti-social peer group; easy availability of firearms; abusive parents; single-parent child; child sexual abuse; lack of education opportunities etc.
• There are issues in deciding the age at which a person becomes an adult. Boundary between juvenile and adult is no longer as clear, as children appear to grow up faster, with more exposure to adult ideas.
• In law, the concept of ‘guilty mind’ holds an important place where a person should be mentally capable and willing to cause the effect of an illegal act to be blamed for that criminal activity. As children do not understand the gravity of the crime they have committed, it is not right to punish them for those crimes.

Thus, it is not just a problem whose onus can be put on children but reflects the malaise and corruption in the society and systemic limitations of the state. Hence, punishing children stands on a slippery ground ethically. It is important that the focus should be shifted from punitive justice to reformative justice. Moreover, socio-economic justice as promised by the Constitution should be pursued earnestly; else we will only address the symptoms but not the causes.

Answer: The given case study presents similarities to the ongoing crises in the wake of recent issues like political violence, terrorism, ethnic conflicts across countries that causes large scale displacement of people. It was witnessed during Syrian refugees’ exodus to Europe, Rohingya refugee crisis and the recent Afghan refugee crisis. The Global South had to bear the major part of the refugee burden, while the West shrugged off its moral and ethical responsibilities.
(a) In the present case, an influx of refugees is natural. However, there are issues with respect to legality of the same in addition to various moral issues that can be delineated as under: Moral Issues:

• Conflict between national interest and universal humanism: International norms and humanitarian impulse suggest that a country should accept refugees. On the other hand, national interests like security threats, demographic challenges of rehabilitation and resource competition raises key concerns for a country.
• Denial of human rights: Human dignity not being respected by the state even if they are a party to the UN conventions and customary laws as well as refusal to accommodate refugees points towards a global failure of states and the UN agencies to protect those facing potential threats of prosecution.
• Compassion: Forced displacement should not only be viewed only through an economic perspective but from the perspective of humanity.

In addition to the aforementioned moral issues, the present case also presents an unfortunate denial of commitments offered under the international law, in particular relating to humanitarian laws, human rights, genocides, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The UNHRC also identifies rights and guarantees relevant to the protection of persons from forced displacement and to their protection and assistance during displacement.
(b) As a Senior Official entrusted with the mandate to design a national policy to safely accommodate India bound refugees, I would categorize my policy recommendations in the light of their short-term and long-term impact and suggest the following policy recommendations: 1. Short-term measures:

• Temporary refuge: As part of the ongoing crises, I would recommend discussion with adjoining nations and call for efforts to be made to provide for their temporary settlement in adjoining countries. I would recommend countries bearing greater burden of refugees to come together as a regional bloc and influence affluent countries to contribute generously. This way, it would also be easy to repatriate refugees once the conditions normalize.
• Nodal Offices: Since there are issues related to the legality of routes adopted by inbound refugees, many would be under immense duress, I would recommend setting up an integrated asylum agency with nodal offices across neighboring regions to facilitate verification, and resettlement of the refugees in their nearest safe spots. The current system of fragmented border agencies is not only inefficient, expensive and cruel but also non- accountable and works only to pass the responsibility.
• Civil Society: NGOs and private sector could be roped in for humanitarian assistance for ensuring the basic needs like food, water, sanitation etc.

2. Long term measures: I would recommend setting up institutional mechanisms in cooperation with the international agencies to offer greater protection and assistance to people in their own countries so that they do not have to flee in the first place.

• Moral and diplomatic persuasion to stop persecution and promote reconciliation among stakeholders in various countries to avoid migration of people.
• Policy measures at global level: I would recommend stepping up diplomatic efforts to instill a multilateral asylum policy to facilitate equitable sharing of the burden of refugees.
• Policy measures at domestic level: Since there is an absence of a national refugee policy, I would recommend officials to give some serious thought to drafting its own refugee policy based on universal principles of dignity, fraternity and safety.
• Proper Data collection: The lack of reliable data in terms of the exact number of illegal immigrants, especially in India, is also a problem area that needs to be addressed urgently for better preparedness.

Global collective action to prevent violence induced forced migration and holding accountable those who commit them will be a crucial step in making the global system of refugee protection more adequate. Similarly, taking positive steps to come to the aid of those who have been driven from home will be essential to a more effective refugee regime.

Answer: The above case-study reflects the situation often seen in mineral rich states, where political corruption has historically remained high and officers are threatened, and made scapegoats in order to save the culprits.
(A) Stakeholders involved in the given case:

• News agency: It highlighted the illegal activities in the district and did its duty as the fourth pillar of democracy by questioning wrongdoings in governance.
• Minister: He not only misused his power but is also trying to harm the career of an innocent employee.
• District Magistrate: Who is at the position of establishing facts and bringing culprit(s) to the book. He also has the responsibility to uphold the spirit of the civil service by being impartial in the probe. His job and promotional aspects are also at stake here.
• Innocent government employee: Having no knowledge of what is happening behind the curtains and chances of becoming scapegoats for someone else’s wrongs.
• Ruling political party: Intention of projecting a corruption free image just before the elections is morally wrong and is against the spirit of democracy for not taking actions.
• Voters of the Minister’s constituency: Since the Minister is confident of returning to power, it is the duty of voters now to vote for the same and uphold democratic values.

Ethical issues in the given case:

• The reputation of an innocent employee is at stake: With ministerial pressure on the District Magistrate to take action against an innocent junior officer, the fortitude of the DM is tested to protect his junior employees from powerful people.
• Illegal exploitation of natural resources: Natural resources, which belong to the public are being exploited by powerful people against public interest.
• Government’s image: Because only one Minister is engaged in corrupt acts, exposing such wrongdoings so close to the elections may cast doubt on the efforts of the rest of the Cabinet and tarnish the government’s image.
• Upholding Objectivity: It is the duty of the civil servant to uphold the fundamental values of public service (7 principles as suggested by the Nolan Committee). Establishing the facts of the case without tampering and presenting the real culprit ensures objectivity in the case.
• Public trust needs to be upheld: It is the duty of the DM to uphold the trust of citizens in the bureaucracy by protecting the natural resources and naming the actual culprits irrespective of whatever post, in this case a minister, he is holding.

(B) As District Magistrate, I have the following options: Going ahead with the probe and naming the Minister in report:

• Merits

✓ This will fulfil the welfare agenda and establish the rule of law, which abhors corruption. ✓ Protects the innocent government employee. ✓ Strong signal to the future Ministers as well, thus protecting the natural resources of the district.

• Demerits

✔ May tarnish the image of the ruling party and lead to a loss in upcoming elections. ✓ It can lead to the DM’s transfer or suspension on false charges.
Protecting the minister by naming a junior government employee:

• Merits

✔ It will be a win-win situation for both the DM and the Minister as the Minister will help the DM in his career growth if the party comes into power.

• Demerits

✔ Punishing the innocent is a violation of justice. ✓ It leads to an erosion of ethical standards in discharging public service for the personal gains of the DM. ✔ It misguides the public trust, which is the core driving factor for the bureaucracy.
Taking issue to the Chief Minister of the State:

• Merits

✓ This will ensure that the hierarchy is respected. ✓ This may lead to at least political action against the concerned Minister.

• Demerits

✓ The CM may put pressure on the DM to follow the Minister’s orders in order to protect the government’s image, which may help the return the party to power.
(b) Considering the available options, an option which involves naming the Minister in the report, will be the best course of action. The reason being:

• Objectivity cannot be compromised for personal gains: The Minister being the real culprit in the given case, it is unethical to punish some other person. Threats to personal career are common in the service, and if a civil servant tries to compromise, then he will not do justice to his duty.
• Courage of conviction: By showcasing courage of conviction, the DM in this case can set an example for the fellow employees, which encourages them to take the right action irrespective of the culprit’s position in the system.
• Protecting public property: Such actions against the concerned Minister will create fear in the minds of corrupt individuals and thus help in protecting natural resources, which are the property of the public.

Just as it generally happens in the case of exposing illegal mining in India, civil servants should uphold the ethical standards and should keep personal benefits at bay when it comes to discharging their duties.