Report No. 29
33. Some salient points as to the provisions in England, U.S.A. and Soviet Russia.-On the basis of the brief discussion attempted above1, we venture to draw certain general conclusions as to white-collar and economic crimes in the countries concerned.
First, in England and in the U.S.A., an emphasis has been placed on "white-collar crimes" (such as, frauds by corporations, manipulations in the stock exchange, commercial bribery, bribery of public officials, tax frauds, professional and business rackets, etc.). But, in the Soviet Russia and other countries of Eastern Europe, the emphasis placed has been on "economic crimes". In fact, having regard to the social and economic complex of those countries, the importance of white-collar crimes (crimes by persons of the upper strata), seems to be limited.
Secondly, the importance attached to each species of white-collar and economic crimes has varied from time to time. While one species of white-collar crime, such as profiteering, assumes importance at one stage, at another stage it might pale into insignificance, and another species of white-collar crime, such as tax fraud, might come into prominence.
Thirdly, there is no common factor binding white-collar crimes as known in the West with economic crimes as emphasised in Eastern Europe.
Fourthly, there is no common characteristic behind the economic crimes penalised in Eastern Europe, except that they share the common characteristic of all crimes, namely, acts universally disapproved of by members of the society concerned2.
1. Paras. 6-32, supra.
2. Cf. Durkheim, Division of Labour in Society (English translation by George Simpson, (1933), p. 70, cited in Mannheim Criminal Justice and Social Reconstruction, (1946), p. 167.
34. Position in Commonwealth countries.-We tried to ascertain, as far as possible, whether provisions of the nature contained in the Soviet Criminal Law1 are in force in the Penal Codes of Commonwealth countries. For this purpose, we made an attempt to study in detail the Penal Codes of Canada, Australia2 and New Zealand, and the material available as to certain other Commonwealth countries3-4. We were unable to trace such wide and sweeping provisions in the laws of those countries, or in the law of England5.
1. Paras. 28 to 32, supra.
2. The Criminal law is codified in Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania.
3. Sheridan, Malaya and Singapore-The Development of their Laws and Constitution (1961).
4. S.A. De Smith, The New Commonwealth and its Constitution, (1964).
5. See also Appendices 19, 20, 26, 28 and 29.