Thoughts on Judiciary Compensation

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Claude Desmoulins
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Thoughts on Judiciary Compensation

Post by Claude Desmoulins »

I have been doing some pondering of the recent RA decision to pay (albeit temporarily) the chief judge and Chair of the Judicial Commission. I have arrived at the conclusion that I believe it should not be made permanent.

My biggest objection is that payment for these two positions combines compensation with life tenure. If payment for these positions is made permanent, we are essentially handing Ash and Publius $L1000/month for as long as they desire it.

In the real world, protected judicial compensation serves an important purpose. Real life judges need food and shelter, and their judicial independence could be compromised by authorities threatening to withhold that. Of course SL avatars have no such needs, eliminating the need to protect compensation in order to protect independence.

Some will argue that the lack of a virtual paycheck will shrink the pool of applicants. It seems pretty small already. However, my hunch is that this is more a matter of complexity than pay.

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Ashcroft Burnham
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Post by Ashcroft Burnham »

There is a substantial difference, however, between asking people who want to be judges to be citizens (and therefore having to pay land rent), and asking them to pay land rent, but then giving them a salary.

If there is no judicial compensation at all, the office of judge will not be voluntary: one will have to pay to hold it. That itself could be a disincentive. If you do not approve of compensating judges by direct payment, then at least consider compensating them by crediting them back their land fees.

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Beathan
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Post by Beathan »

Ashcroft wrote [quote:rhbv8218]There is a substantial difference, however, between asking people who want to be judges to be citizens (and therefore having to pay land rent), and asking them to pay land rent, but then giving them a salary.

If there is no judicial compensation at all, the office of judge will not be voluntary: one will have to pay to hold it. That itself could be a disincentive. If you do not approve of compensating judges by direct payment, then at least consider compensating them by crediting them back their land fees.
[/quote:rhbv8218]

I disagree with this. The benefit of CDS citizenship should not be the benefit of holding any particular office. We pay to be CDS citizens. Rent is the equivalent of taxation -- and without taxation governement is not possible. Moreover, without rent, we would not be able to pay LL our land use fees. We would cease to exist.

Further, I, for one, would serve as judge without compensation for the present. I make more then enough as a ML land speculator -- let alone in my day job.

If the system becomes truly professional (rather than merely "professionalized" in the sense of requiring participants to act as professionals unnecessarily) we could revisit this issue. However, I do not see the disincentive to Ashcroft's paricipation in an unpaid judiciary as unlike the disincentive felt by many others to participation in a "professionalized" judiciary. (See my post in defense of simplicity.)

Beathan

Last edited by Beathan on Wed Nov 29, 2006 5:14 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Claude Desmoulins
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Post by Claude Desmoulins »

[quote="Ashcroft Burnham":1pwexzxg]

If there is no judicial compensation at all, the office of judge will not be voluntary: one will have to pay to hold it. That itself could be a disincentive. If you do not approve of compensating judges by direct payment, then at least consider compensating them by crediting them back their land fees.[/quote:1pwexzxg]

But all citizens pay said fees, thus it has nothing to do with being a judge or not being a judge. I suppose this has much to do with where you expect your judges to come from. I, and I believe many others, hope that those who are already citizens will seek to serve the community by becoming judges. Your statement, "one will have to pay to hold it", only makes sense if one is joining the community with the express intent of becoming a judge. Perhaps you know of one or more judicial applicants who think of it that way. If our judges are jurists first and citizens second, the battle is already lost.

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Ashcroft Burnham
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Post by Ashcroft Burnham »

[quote="Claude Desmoulins":104784lz] If our judges are jurists first and citizens second, the battle is already lost.[/quote:104784lz]

I was not aware that we were fighting a battle - to which battle are you referring?

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Post by Publius Crabgrass »

Nobody asked me before the RA decided to pay L$1000 per month for December, January & February. I decline to accept this compensation. Put it towards a third sim.

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