sentencing
are there any jurisdictions around the world where courts having discretion not only for sentancing but also for pradons and parole?
<p>various UN tribunals for warcrimes and genocide have this but I haven't seen this in any other country where they have broad discretion like this. would this be against the principle of seperation of powers ? since pardoning and sentancing is something traditionally associated with legislature and executive powers</p>

<p><strong>Pardons and paroles are different things, usually.</strong></p>
<p>A parole is the recognition that society is best served if the convict spends the remaining sentence outside prison.</p>
<p>It is an important legal principle that people can only be imprisoned for their crimes, after being sentenced in a due process. When the prison term is up, the prisoner must be free to go. Yet changing the release date ist the most powerful tool to influence the behaviour of the prisoner while in prison. (Others are privileges like a TV set in the cell, or punishments like solitary confinement). The penal system wants to &quot;bribe&quot; an inmate to do things like vocational training, or anger therapy, which help with reintegration in society but which are not strictly required of a prisoner. So the prisoner is <strong>&quot;bribed&quot; with early release</strong> to behave &quot;better&quot; than required. That's a function of the justice system.</p>
<p>In other cases, the legal system may believe that immediate release, <strong>under the supervision</strong> of a parole officer, is the best way to deal with a criminal. Again a function of the justice system.</p>
<p>A pardon, on the other hand, has developed from the royal right to grant a reprieve <strong>without giving a justification.</strong></p>
<p>This can be seen as a way to do justice when the letter of the law leads to an injustice. The judiciary is bound by laws, and laws should not be written for any one specific case. Today the power of pardon is often given to the head of government or to the head of state (note that it is often the head of state, not the head of government).</p>
