Establishing Special Courts Catering to Human Trafficking Cases Essay

Last 2012, Ms. triumph Ngozi Ezeilo, an envoy from the United Nations visited the Philippines to observe the situation of armament man trafficking in the democracy. Ms. Ezeilo stated that the Philippines is undoubtedly a witness country for military man race trafficking, and the problem is non declining. one(a) of the solutions she proposed to address the problem were particular(prenominal) administrations catering to tender-hearted trafficking cases. (Reyes, 2012. ) homosexual trafficking thrives in poverty & drop of education, which argon the main catalysts for individuals to be ushered into trafficking. (An introduction to Human Trafficking, 2008.These atomic number 18 some(prenominal) of the problems the governing is facing, and the deuce atomic number 18 actually interconnected because they be the cause and effects of each(prenominal) former(a). Poverty leads to lack of education, and lack of education leads to poverty. The disposal is doing what they can to assist minimize the issue, notwithstanding they include that it would take some time. (Sisante, 2008. ) Education is a represendation to combat trafficking, re give wayable to the circumstance that education leads to decent employment, and a well-informed individual would be much awargon of the dangers of macrocosm trafficked, thus preventing it to happen in his/her feeling.However, ideal this may sound, it is non possible to crystallise poverty and lack of education in a snap. in that respect has to be some other solutions to consider that could be done now and would digest a peachy impact. The psychiatric hospital of particular(a)(a) begs tackling specifically homophiles trafficking-oriented cases is a practical solution that would greatly expedite the surgery of punishing tender-hearted traffickers and by extension greatly reduce the number of cases of human trafficking in the Philippines, sh ar alleviate its social, economic, and political consequ ences.Before supernumerary tribunals as a solution is to be covered any further, it is in-chief(postnominal) to define what a particular(a) court is. specialize courts argon defined by the Inter democracyal ledger for Court Administration as tribunals of narrowly concentrate jurisdiction to which all cases that fall within that jurisdiction are r protrudeed. (Zimmer, 2009) The following paragraphs are going to discuss the counterarguments a agnisest special courts, and would be briefly refuted before the tether main arguments in favor of special courts are presented. The opposition may claim special courts as an unnecessary expenditure and in entrywayible.They claim that it is unnecessary because the unveiling of new courts is onerous and constitutes unnecessary expenditures, particularly if cases are seasonal, and funds could go to waste if it remains idle. (Zimmer, 2009. ) The mental home of a court would automatically imply expenditures. The court has to pay for th e administrative costs, the personal court, and other expenses call for to assist the victims, like court psychiatrists. It would in addition await effort on the judiciary, and the Supreme Court, imputable to the accompaniment that special courts have to be set-up with care in bon ton for its authority in eliminating cases to be maximized. Zimmer, 2009) However, financial backing is non a strong argument, because the governance has money. It is the correct allocation of the funds, or budgeting that is in question. The government has establish special courts for purlieual cases in 2008, 117 to be exact. (Salaveirra, 2008) If the government has placed effort enough to set up courts to save the environment, shouldnt it be a antecedency to set up courts to fight for human trafficking victims, who have been robbed of their rights? Human rights should always be kept in the priority list of the government.Recently, it has been reported that the government is funding the d epartment of Health with 500 zillion pesos for contraceptives for the socio-economic class 2013. One of their aims was to combat poverty. (Fernandez, 2012. ) This shows that the government tries to prioritise the scant(p), however it just shows that they havent valuatement of to a greater extent practical ways to combat poverty, with turn up universe morally questionable, and without robbing humans the right to life. Chief arbitrator Puno stated that preservation of human rights and the right to life should be considered more than the financial burden a special court entails. Rempillo, 2007. )This is what the special court for human trafficking should be for, to fight for rights. A $1. 5 one thousand thousand budget or almost ? 65 million is allotted by the bailiwick government to computer backup operations a lucrest human trafficking, prosecution of absentenders, and for the protection of the public. (IACAT, 2012. ) The special courts would forego this budget to be maxim ized to its full potential in expediting human trafficking cases. Public access could besides be limited. Some judges prefer not to be in a special court setting because it limits their trials to twist cases. Bakker, 1997) Public access may similarly be limited repayable to the fact that you cannot establish it everywhere, and the judges are most apt(predicate) to stay in their individual courts. If public access is considered a problem, then strategically locating these physical courts would be the solution.To place special courts in favorable areas in which the cases are numerous could actually answer the victims to easily access jurist. Some judges may not want to be in a special court setting because it limits their trials to specific criminal cases. (Bakker, 1997. However, this could turn into an advantage because if they keep seeing the selfsame(prenominal) class of cases over and over again, they could render out decisions faster and more high-octanely, due to a em end understanding of the cases that they deal with. (Zimmer, 2009. ) on that point are coursece solutions to human trafficking prosecution, prevention, and protection. (EHTN, n. d. ) The establishment of special courts would aid in prosecution, due to the speedy justice it serves, prevention, since it is an effective disablement for criminals obscure, and protection, due to its aims in protecting the victims, and the witnesses during the timeframe of the case.The following paragraphs would flesh out more on why special courts should be established. Firstly, special courts would aid in prosecution and are practical. This is supported by the prevalence of human trafficking, the poor en pluckment of justice, specifically in human trafficking cases, the need to fuck human trafficking as a family of cases that should be identify from labor become rapines, the legal precedents much(prenominal) as former special courts set-up for heinous crimes, and the successful writ of exec ution of human trafficking courts in other nations.Human trafficking is a serious issue in the Philippines. As pointed out by the UN envoy Ezeilo, the Philippines is a source country for human trafficking. (Reyes, 2012. ) This is due to the fact that when Philippines go foreign for wee-wee opportunities, they get vulnerable to recruitment by fraudulent recruitment agencies. Internal trafficking is also a serious issue because laboured labor, prostitution, child labor, and other forms of trafficking are victimizing citizenry who are moving from verdant areas to urban centers. para, US segment of State, 2011 as cited by (Human Trafficking in due east Asia & Pacific.. , n. d. ) The rise of human trafficking cases in the Philippines, particularly in the Visayas region, is 97% in 2012, in comparison to the cases filed in 2010.There were 436 human trafficking victims in Central Visayas alone. (State prosecutors see increase.. , 2012) other alarming detail is the prevalence of ch ild labor. There has been an estimation of more than 2. 2 million operative children aged 15-17 in the country. (US Department of State, 2011. as cited by (Human Trafficking in East Asia & Pacific.. , n. d. It is also believed that 60,000-100,000 Filipino children are involved in prostitution rings. (Challenger, 2010. ) The previous information stated imply that there are thousands of potential cases to be filed, and special courts would sustain in fast-tracking the cases to avoid backlog, and to cross fair and speedy justice. The government has fallen short in the enforcement of justice in dealings with human trafficking cases.There were 680 pending or ongoing cases, and an additional 129 cases pending at the Department of Justice during the year 2012. Trafficking in Persons.. , 2012. ) This shows a coarse amount of backlog and ongoing cases, which shows the prevalence of the cases, and the lack of efficiency on the part of the judiciary when it comes to dealing with human tra fficking cases. In the Philippines, it takes three to four eld to conclude human trafficking cases, which supports the previous statement rough the inefficiency of the judiciary. Human trafficking is a family of cases. It is an organized criminal application in which human universes are treated as possessions to be controlled and exploited.Forms of human trafficking include sex trafficking, constrained labor, child labor, change of organs, and recruitment of children in military work, are forms of human trafficking. (Human Trafficking Organized Crime.. , 2012) These crimes (except for the selling of organs) are usually confused with labor contract violations, in which the special court would come in handy. In 2012, there have barely been two out of twenty-nine traffickers convicted for labor exploitation, showing that the judiciary is not paying enough heed to it. Trafficking in Persons , 2012. )(Reyes, 2012. ) The special court would help differentiate the two, and yield th e human trafficking cases to be dealt with properly. (Trafficking in Persons , 2012) Expertise and agreement are traits of special courts, and could be put to unplayful use so that there is consistency in applying the practice of law. The expertise of judges in specialise courts are likely to produce better decisions in the respective cases and are less likely to generate appeals to be taken. (Zimmer, 2009. )The judiciary has established several special courts for other cases, which gives a legal precedent for human trafficking courts. The administrative circular no. 104-96 from the Supreme Court discusses the establishment of special courts that cater to heinous crimes for speedy and efficient justice. (Administrative Circular No. 104-96, 1996) This document shows that special courts have been done before, so it implies that it can be done again. Environmental courts, extrajudicial killings, and tax courts are some of the examples of special courts established in the Philippine s. congresswoman Mel Senen Sarmiento of the first district of Samar is pushing for the creation of special courts for human trafficking, saying that the Philippines is close to Somalia and Myanmar as regards trafficking, selling their tidy sum like cattle. If congress can puddle courts for drug traffickers why not a court for human traffickers too? (Quirante, 2010. ) In other nations such as Dubai and India, special human trafficking courts have been in effect established. Dubai believes that the special human trafficking courts established would speed up cases. Constantine, 2010. ) Meanwhile, the human trafficking court in Mumbai disposed a large backlog of cases in a traverse of a year, which included 438 cases, and convictions in 81 cases. It also ordered the closure of 11 brothels. (US Officials move, 2011) This proves that it is an effective solution to exercise justice, and to help contri entirelye criminals layabout bars. A political benefit that the Philippines could gain from establishing special courts is the improvement of the nations rank in the United States Trafficking in Persons Report.Currently, the nation is graded in tier 2, which means that the country is do significant efforts to fight human trafficking, but it does not yet meet minimum standards. Why should the nation take an effort in improving our tier ranking? If the nation falls into tier 3, the US would withhold or withdraw non-humanitarian, non-trade-related foreign assistance as a consequence. (Tiers Placement , 2011) This is important because not only would the country be able to hold up the actionation of rights, but also maintain obedient diplomatic relations with the United States.Secondly, special courts would help prevent human trafficking. This is due to the fact that the courts would be an effective deterrent to the criminals involved in the crime. It would change magnitude the economic advantages and benefits that make the industry appealing to pot, and it w ould help alleviate the economic and political consequences of human trafficking. When the suspects, and people who are interested in getting involved in the industry, see that justice is macrocosm enforced, they ordain at long last act on their fear of organism caught and possibly stop in their advances.If not, the misfortune of them creation caught could possibly increase as order of magnitude becomes more and more sensible of human trafficking, and more reassured in filing complaints as they see justice being served. Not only would it put criminals behind bars, but it would also put their name to shame. In the first quarter of 2013, a new law was signed by President Benigno Aquino. Republic phone number 10364, the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012, removed the confidentiality render in the previous law, RA 9208.RA 9208 does not allow the names and circumstances of the victims and the criminal to be made public at any gunpoint of investigation, rescue, p rosecution and trial. With the confidentiality clause removed, this allows the public to know the personal identity of the criminals, so as not to risk being victimized by them. (Punay, 2013. ) With the special court at hand, the criminals would not only be humiliated publicly, but they pull up stakes be put to justice quickly. finicky courts could aid in alleviating the loss of human resources due to trafficking.In human trafficking, the labor force is apply and therefore, is kept from contributing to the nations miserliness that causes the loss of revenue. (An introduction to Human Trafficking, 2008) The labor force should be able to provide for their family and put up to taxes for the amelioration of the nation, but with the potential labor force being exploited in human trafficking, this does not allow them to do so. With putting the criminals behind bars in a more efficient way, it prevents people from being trafficked in the first place.especial(a) courts could also eve ntually help stop the unlawful distribution of national wealth, and influences markets, political power, and societal relations. (An introduction to Human Trafficking, 2008) Traffickers feign fair competition due to the fact that some companies outsource their productions for a cheaper price, not knowing that trafficked people are used in the factories. Traffickers make 32 billion annually. Not only is it untaxed, but people who actually provided the labor do not gain from this. (An Introduction to Human Trafficking, 2008. )Special courts would also decrease human traffickings political implications due to culpable immigration. Migration policies are tightened because of illegal immigration. Due to these policies, victims are forced to enter other countries illegally, and when they are caught, the may be considered as collaborators which makes the implementation of rights as an issue. (An introduction to Human Trafficking, 2008. ) This could also lead to giving people herculean t ime in looking for better work opportunities abroad, due to the fact that they could not migrate easily.It benefits people in a way that trafficking could be prevented, but traffickers find other ways to get the victims through and through the borders. Trafficking victims and ignominious people are different because smuggled people gain their freedom when they reach their depot while trafficked victims are not. (An introduction to Human Trafficking, 2008. ) With the courts established, and the criminals sent behind bars, the opportunity for them to traffic more free people in ther nations, where they are subject to human rights violations. It is important to refer to the Mumbai Special court, that was successful in eradicating trafficking in the city to some extent due to the closing of human-trafficking related businesses, and justice being served to the criminals. (US Officials Impressed , 2011) Lastly, special courts would reintegrate the victim to order of magnitude faster. Human trafficking, as a grave violation to human rights, has a psychological effect on victims.The protection of the victims and the witnesses during the timeframe of the cases trial is also a vital need required of the law, and without this protection, the timeframe is lengthened. There is also a need to make society realize that the victim was at no open frame to push it to accept the victim again. How do these things contribute to faster reintegration of the victim to society? Psychological and medical examination help is required of the law, and it is the courts craft to make sure that the victim gets to enjoy these benefits. RA 9208, 2003. ) Most human trafficking victims experience post-traumatic stress, which should be brought into attention so that it could be alleviated, thus helping the victim live a normal life again. (Williamson, Dutch, Clawson, 2012. ) This is due to the victims being drugged or being disadvantaged of their basic needs such as intellectual nourishm ent as motivation to work by their traffickers. (Challenger, 2010. ) It is presumed that the specialized court would assist the victims properly, and according to their needs. (Reyes, 2012. )Another right of the court is to ensure protection of not only the victim, but also the witness. It is required by the Anti-Trafficking law. (RA 9208, 2003. ) This would insure protection so that both victims and witnesses wont be afraid to tell the truth. (Reyes, 2012. ) Dubai believes that the special human trafficking court would provide a safe environment for witnesses. (Constantine, 2010. ) Fear suppresses the implementation of justice. Fear of retaliation causes the victims and/or witnessed to withdraw or decline cooperation which leads to a drawn-out trial.In 2010, only 3 trafficking cases were assisted by the Department of Justice due to unwillingness of the victims. (US Department of State, 2011. as cited by (Human Trafficking in East Asia & Pacific.. , n. d. ) The less time it takes to conclude the case, the easier it is for the victim to cooperate, because in slow trials, there is a fear of the possibility of the accused party could retaliate and scare off the victim and/or witnesses. In Philippine Special Courts, mandatory continuous trial that should be end within 60 days and the decision should be rendered within 30. Administrative Circular No. 104-96, 1996) This timeframe is well-founded enough to allow the court to collect evidences and investigate, and for the judge to study the case well in order to render a fair decision. Special courts, when they implement justice, would help society realize that the victim was not at fault. It would help society accept the victim. In most cases, being trafficked affects the social stigma of the victim, who is disapproved for move without promised wealth.Society has the tendency to blame the victim for disgracing his/herself and his/her family due to the fact that they dont realize that the trafficker is at fault, and not the victim. (An introduction to Human Trafficking, 2008. ) With the special court, it would be made clear that the victim was, and so a victim, and did not consent to the injustices that he/she suffered. This would also show that the government is, indeed, taking the issue seriously, and will do what they can to make sure that the offenders pay for their crimes.It would also help society become aware of the seriousness of human trafficking as an issue in the country. The establishment of special courts is a good and practical solution that could be immediately applied by the nation. With the implications that the establishment of the special courts is to be well-studied by the judiciary for good implementation, resulting in good, educated decisions in choosing serve staff, strategic placement of physical courts, then the special court would be maximized in helping towards the obliteration of human trafficking.