Criminal Liability Case Study

Criminal Liability Case Study This assignment will explore many interesting questions considering criminal liability of Jane, Francine, Sam and Allan, actus reus, mens rea and the circumstances when a person is liable for the criminal acts of another. Every criminal offense has two components: one of these is objective, the other is subjective; one is physical, the other is mental; one is the actus reus, the other is the mens rea. The actus reus generally differs from crime to crime. In murder it is homicide; in burglary it is the nocturnal breaking into the dwelling of another; in uttering a forged instrument it is the act of offering as good an instrument which is actually false. In like manner the mens rea differs from crime to crime. In murder it is malice aforethought; in burglary it is the intent to commit a felony; in uttering a forged instrument it is knowledge that the instrument is false plus an intent to defraud. Perkins Boyce Criminal Law 830-831 (3rd ed. 1982). [1]The actus reus must be causally related to the mens rea for a crime to occur: An evil intention and an unlawful action must concur in order to constitute a crime. 93 N. E. 249. Although it is frequently said that no mens rea is required for a strict liab ility offense, the actus reus alone being sufficient (see e. g. , 361 U. S. 147, 150 and 342 U. S. 246, 256), it is more useful to identify a special mens rea for the civil offense that recognizes the low level of culpability connected with a strict or civil offense. As to the act being sufficient even in the strict liability setting, a guilty act (as opposed to a coerced act for example) would seem required. Hall, General Principles of Criminal Law 222-27 (2d ed. 1960)[2]. corpus delicti. http://www. answers. com/topic/actus-reus#Notes Latin: a mind to be accused; a guilty mind. In many systems of law, criminal guilt requires not  only that an act was performed (actus reus) but also that it was performed with an appropriate  mind-set. Having the intention to perform a crime is sufficient, but not necessary to mens rea. Foreseeing a side-effect such as a death could count, even if the death is not intended, and  reckless negligence could also constitute mens rea. As an element of criminal responsibility, a  guilty mind; a guilty or wrongful purpose; a criminal intent. Guilty knowledge and willfulness. A fundamental principle of criminal law is that a crime consists of both a mental and a physical  element. Mens rea, a persons awareness of the fact that his or her conduct is criminal, is the  mental element, and actus reus, the act itself, is the physical element  mostly crimes, including common-law crimes, are defined by statutes that usually contain a  word or phrase indicating the mens rea requirement. A typical statute, for example, may require  that a person act knowingly, purposely, or recklessly. Sometimes a statute creates criminal liability for the commission or omission of a particular act  without designating a mens rea. These are called strict liability statutes. If such a statute is  construed to purposely omit criminal intent, a person who commits the crime may be guilty even  though he or she had no knowledge that his or her act was criminal and had no thought of  committing a crime. All that is required under such statutes is that the act itself is voluntary,  since involuntary acts are not criminal. http://www. answers. com/topic/mens-rea Janes criminal liability for the injuries lina An examination of Janes liability of he harm caused Lina must start by considering the harm done. The expression badly Burt is suggestive grievous harm bodily harm , so opening up the possibility of offences contrary to both s. 18 and s. 20 of Offences Against the Person Act 1861. [3] Under s. 18 there would have to be proof that Jane had caused grievous bodily harm, which these purpose would be satisfied by evidence that the burns constituted serious harm Rv sanderts 1985 crime Lr230)[4] there are no causation issues. The throwing of fireworks causes the harm in fact and there is no evidence of any novus acuts intervenient. The problem for prosecution would be regarded as the mens rea, did Jane intend to cause grievous bodily harm to any person? Unless there is evidence that Jane foresaw such harm as virtually certain Rv wolling(1998)A ALL ER103) [5]. There will no basis for a s. 18 charge. Proof of such forsight seems unlikely, especially if the throwing of the firework was meant as a prank, further problems would arise under s18 in respect of Janes alcohol consumption. The offence is one of specific intent so Jane was intoxicated therefore she cannot be guilty of the s 18 offence see DPPv Majewski (1976) All ER42, [6]. Whether or not Jane was intoxicated will be question of fact for the jury. Above mentioned points in a mind a charge under is s20 of the Offence Against the Person Act 1861 would seen more promising. The prosecution will have to prove that Jane maliciously inflicted grievous bodily harms on the lina. The harm will be made out as can be regarded as synonymous with causing Rv Burstow Rv Ireland 1997AC 147[7]. The mental element here requires proof that Jane farsaw the possibility of some Diolock LJ in mowatt (1967) 3 ALLER 47[8]. On the fact is it possible that Jane did not foresee any physical harm, especially if she gave no thought to the possibility of there being anyone on the other side of the hedge. If Jane was intoxicated she could still incur liability unders s20. a (basic intent crime) if there is evidence that she was reckless in becoming intoxicated and, as a result, was unaware of a risk of physical harm being caused that she would have been aware of had she been sober. DPPV Majewski [9] and subsequent decisions such as Rv Rivhardson and Irwin (19 99) [10] crime LR 494 and Rv hardie (1984) 3 ALL ER 848. [11][12] If the harm done does not amount to grievous bodily harm, or the mens rea for s 20. cannot be established, Jane may be charged under s47 of the Offence Against the Person Act 1961 the she assaulted lina and thereby occasional actual bodily harm The burns would undoubtedly satisfy the definition of actual bodily harm Rv Miller (1954)) 2. QB 282[13]. The only mens rea required would be intension to assault or reckless, but the subjective recklessness Rv cunninghum (1957). 2 QB 396[14][15]. Jane must therefore, be proved to have been aware if risk that another person might be assaulted or battered by her actions, so there would be no need to show that she foresaw any actual bodily harm Rv savage. Rv parameter (1992) 1 AC 699 [16]again s 47 is basic intend crime that comments regarding the significance of intoxication in relation to s 20 apply here. Francines criminal liability accomplice Jane. Francine encourage Jane to throw the fire work and can be described as someone who a betted to offence by Jane. Francine was the scene of the crime and spurred Jane on Francine will argue that she did not think that anyone would be avail her. Accomplice will be party to all the unforeseen or accidental consequences of the agreed course of conduct carried out by the principal offender. In the present cane Jane dose precisely what Francine tells . she should do, so Francine will be a party to resulting offences Rv Betts and Ridley (1930) 22 Cr App R148 and Rv Baldessare (1930) 22 Cr App R 70[17]. It is possible that Francine as an accomplice may be charged with and found guilty of a more serious offence than that which Jane is charged with. Note of the Francine is sober so she may be capable of greater foresight of harm occurring to another. There is nothing in principle to prevent Francine being charged with a more serious offences than that charged against Jane. Sams criminal liability against regarding the milk Sam may be guilty of theft milk. It is clearly property belonging to another s. 4(1) and s. 5(1) of the Theft Act 1968. He appropriates the milk by hiding it s. 3(1) of the 1968 Act. Any assumption of any right of the owner can amount an appropriation of property. It is hard to see any argument by which he could claim not to dishonest. The only issue is intension to permanently deprive. Sam will argue that he had no such intension, but s 6(1) of the Theft Act 1968 provides that even if he did not actually intend Jane to permanently lose the milk, his dealing with it can be regarded as evidence id his having the intension of permanently depriving her of it. Because sam chose to treat the milk as his own to dispose of regardless of Janes right. Rv cahill (1993) Crime LR141[18], suggest the removing anothers property to another palce as a prank falls outside s. 6(1) but the courts are likely to fallow DPP v Lavender (1993) Crime LR 297,[19] which suggests that such action can be theft. The perishable nature of the commodity will strengthen the prosecution case on this point in the event. Milk could also provide the basis for criminal damage charge contrary s 1(1) of the Criminal Damages Act 1971. Sams criminal liability regarding the deflated tyres Deliberately deflating the tyres could be criminal damage to s 1(1) of the Criminal Damages Act 1971 the point to note here is that the tyres can be damaged simply by being altered. The mens rea is evident. A charge of aggravated criminal damage contrary to s. 1(2) might also be considered, but if the car cannot be driven because the tyres are flat it would be difficult for the prosecution to prove that sam intended to endanger life or was reckless as to whether his action would have that effect. Tempering with the brakes, by contrast, would support as s. (2) offence. It should be noted that, following Rv G (2003) 4 ALL ER 765, [20]the recklessness involved in the offence of criminal damages is subjective so assuming his intension to damage property can be taken as evident from the fact. The prosecution would have to prove that sam was aware of the risk that like would be endangered as result of the damage to the property, and that the circumstances known to him, it had been unreason able for him to take risk. Allans liability regarding the telephone calls. Lord steyen in R v burtow , R v Ireland (1998) AC 147, held that both grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm could take the form of neurotic disorder induced by a defendants conduct. It was also accepted in that case that such harm could be caused without any direct assault on the victim by the defended. Whether a case involved grievous bodily harm or actual bodily harm would simply be a matter of degree. The House of Lords also held in that case that although in s. 47 actual bodily harm cases as assault had to proven, it could be committed by the use of words alone, by a telephone call, even by silent telephone call. The prosecution would have to prove however, that the victim apprehended immediate physical violence as result the telephone calls. On the basis Allan could be charged s. 47 in respect of the harm he causes to Pauline. There is no problem in relation to causation. As to mens rea , the fact that telephones the wrong victim by accident is irrelevant. The principle of transferred malice would apply, the identity of the victim being irrelevant. Rv Latimer (1886) 17 QBD 359. [21]Problems might arise under s20. in establishing that Allen acted maliciously Rv Mowatt) as above mentioned. He might not have foreseen the risk of any physical harm occurring to anyone . On the basis of s. 47charge seems more likely. The only mens rea required would be evidence that Allen foresaw the risk of another person apprehending immediate physical violence as result of his telephone calls. Whether or not this could be establish would depend to a large extent on the evidence of that he said when making the calls. The statement ‘I am coming to fire bomb your house in tow min would be an example of a threat the required intent would probably be made out. Sam liability as an accomplice to Allen Sams  counsels Allen in the commission of the offences against Pauline in the sense that persuades him to make calls, there is a connection between sams requests and the actions of Allen. Allen acted within the scope of the authority given by Sam Rv Calhaem(1985) 2 ALL ER 266[22]. That Allen hurts Pauline. Not Jane, is irrelevant. Only if Allen had deliberately chosen a different victim would sam have escaped liability as an accomplice Rv saunders and Archer(1573) 2 plowed 473[23], as an applied in Rv Leaby (1985)Crim LR99[24]. Sam has the mens rea to be accomplice. There is no deliberate departure from the common design by Allan. The issue in above question is with regards to criminal liabilities of Jane, Francine, Sam, Allan  the likelihood of they will be charged for Offences Against Person Act 1861, Theft Act .s18, s20, Jane throw fire on linas garden which causes badly burnt, grievous badly harm, Thus the Offences contrary comes under s18 or s20, Francine was the scene of the crime and spurred Jane on, Francine accomplice will be a party to all the unforeseen or accidental consequences of the of the agreed course of conduct carried by the principal offender. Sams liability comes under Theft Act 1968 he appropriates the milk by hiding it by assumption of property even if he did not actually intend Jane to permanently depraving her of it, also deflating the tyres could be Criminal Damages Act (1971). A charge of aggravated criminal damage contrary to s. 1(2), if the car cannot be driven, intended to endangered, like same way Allan foresaw the risk of another person apprehending immediate physical violence as a result of his telephone calls Thus Allan could be change under s 20 s 47 in respect of the harm he causes to Pauline even if the principal of transfer malice would apply and even If sam console in the commission of the offence against Pauline that he persuades him to make the cause. The men rea required would be the intension to assault or subjective recklessness. Sources Used [1] Perkins Boyce Criminal Law 830-831 (3rd ed. 1982). [2] Hall, General Principles of Criminal Law 222-27 (2d ed. 1960) [3] Offences Against the Person Act 1861. [4] Rv sanderts 1985 crime Lr230) [5] Rv wolling(1998)A ALL ER103) [6] DPPv Majewski (1976) All ER42, [7] Rv Burstow Rv Ireland 1997AC 147 [8] Diolock LJ in mowatt (1967) 3 ALLER 47 [9]  Diolock LJ in mowatt (1967) 3 ALLER 47 [10] Rv Rivhardson and Irwin (1999) [11] Rv Rivhardson and Irwin (1999) [12] Rv Rivhardson and Irwin (1999) [13] Rv Rivhardson and Irwin (1999) 14 Rv cunninghum (1957). 2 QB 396[15] 15 Rv savage. Rv parameter (1992) 1 AC 699 [17] Rv Betts and Ridley (1930) 22 Cr App R148 and Rv Baldessare (1930) 22 Cr App R 70 [18] Rv cahill (1993) Crime LR141 [19] fallow DPP v Lavender (1993) Crime LR 297, [20] Rv G (2003) 4 ALL ER 765, [21] Rv Latimer (1886) 17 QBD 359. [22] Rv Calhaem(1985) 2 ALL ER 266 [23] Rv saunders and Archer(1573) 2 plowed 473 [24] Rv Leaby (1985)Crim LR99

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Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation Essay - 1797 Words

Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation CJA 394 Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation The criminal justice system is an essential aspect of American society as well as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The purpose of laws is to protect society from harm, ensure everyone’s safety, and equally treated. The criminal justice system works to protect the innocent and punish the guilty without violating the rights the criminal suspect to avoid any injustices. As society evolves the criminal justice system needs to evolve so it is important to create new laws to keep up with the evolution and new trends. As new trends and contemporary issues develop in society, they can have a direct impact on the different functions of the criminal justice†¦show more content†¦Every day DNA technology becomes more advanced and innovative, for example can match the smallest amounts of biological evidence to a criminal offender. Future DNA techniques will be applied to existing systems and testing methods that will become more automated and will be more effective and les s time consuming. Instead of waiting months of DNA results the future will provide instantaneous means for DNA profile development. Repeat offenders have become a dilemma for the criminal justice system because the repeat offenders are unresponsive to incarceration. Supporters of Proposition 184, known as Three Strike Initiative, insisted lengthy sentences for repeat offenders would reduce crime (Legislative Analysts Office, 2005). New sentencing policies Three Strike laws will have a major impact on society and the criminal justice system in the future. The state of Washington was the first state to adopt the new three strikes policy in 1993 in response to the high recidivism rates and the murder of Polly Klaus by a repeat and violent criminal offender. California followed suit and is to have the harshest three-strike laws, which classifies felonies violent and serious. Soon after California adopted the three strikes law about two dozen other states joined. The law mandates if a person has two or more previous serious or violent felony convictions, sentence of 25 years to life would be a mandatory (Law Info, 20 12). The goal of theShow MoreRelatedCriminal Justice Trends Evaluation1581 Words   |  7 Pages394 WEEK 1 Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation John Doe CJA 394 October 01, 2001 Jane Doedy Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation The criminal justice system is forever adjusting to protect and serve a changing society. The paper evaluates, identifies and assesses recent future and current trends affecting the criminal justice system. Lastly, it defines the values of the system in a changing society. 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Study On Chinas Earthquake Disaster Risk Management Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 14 Words: 4197 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Cause and effect essay Did you like this example? The earthquake occurred in the Wenchuan area in China on May 12th 2008, was a catastrophic disaster that was the most destructive with the most difficult disaster relief since new China was founded. Although with joint efforts of the Chinese government, the army and people from all NGOs and civil society groups, the earthquake relief had achieved significant victory, we should see that effective disaster risk management has become the common challenges faced by all the countries in the world, especially the earthquake revealed some issues in Chinas disaster risk management. This paper attempts to analyze the problems existing in Chinas earthquake disaster management and discuss the lessons than can be learnt from the Wenchuan earthquake, combined with international experience in disaster risk management. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Study On Chinas Earthquake Disaster Risk Management Finance Essay" essay for you Create order By analyzing the mainstream risk management frameworks (IRGC, ERM, TDRM) and the case of Japan, the paper will point out that integrated disaster risk management is the most comprehensive and effective means to reduce disaster risk and loss. 1. Introduction An earthquake with the magnitude of 8.0 occurred in the Wenchuan County in Sichuan province of China on May 12, 2008. The earthquake is the most devastating since new China was founded. This earthquake affected several cities and areas in the vicinity, and its intensity surpassed the level of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake (Zhang Chunmei, 2009).The data from the State Council Information Office showed that by September 4th of 2008 there had been 69,226 dead and 374,643 injured. More than 17,923 people were missing. Houses that were collapsed and damaged were over 10 million, covering 10 provinces , 417 counties, 4,667 townships and 48,810 villages. Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Chongqing were the harder-hit areas. The total area affected by the earthquake was about 50 million square kilometers and more than 46.25 million people were affected. Expert Group for Earthquake Disaster Relief (2009) estimated that the industrial and agricultural production suffered significant losses, the ecolog ical environment was severely damaged and secondary disasters like collapse, landslide, debris of oxide caused by the earthquake rarely happened in the history. According to the analysis of experts from the National Disaster Reduction Committee and the Ministry of Science, the Wenchuan Earthquake was estimated to bring direct economic loss of 896.43 billion to Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces (Wen Jiahong et al.2010). In face of the catastrophic disaster, the Chinese government started the crisis contingency plan promptly and set up a leading group responsible for the disaster risk response and management in time. The central and local governments invested about 67.2 billion yuan for the disaster relief. At the same time, the civil society took a positive action and supported the disaster areas in a variety of ways. The donated effects and money were nearly 600 million yuan. In addition, the international community extended a helping hand towards China and provided China with emergency tents, medical aid, search and rescue aid and emergency food aid. Their support eased the disaster risk to a certain extent and facilitated the work of the government. Since 2010, the world has repeatedly seen earthquake disaster. Haiti, Chile, China, Afghanistan, Papua New Guinea and the Dominican Republic were all hit by violent earthquake this year, which has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. An earthquake of magnitude 7.1 happened in Yushu County, Qinghai Province on April 14, 2010. 2220 people were killed and 12,135 wounded, 70 missing, 15,000 houses collapsed and 10 million people need rehousing. Thus, effective earthquake disaster risk management has become a common challenge faced by all the countries in the world, particularly that China is a country always hit by serious earthquakes. We need to review the actions taken by the Chinese government and non-governmental organizations in the Wenchuan earthquake and study the successful experience and lessons of the Chinese government , as well as how non-governmental organizations can better play their roles in the face of disaster. Based on analysis and assessment of earthquake disaster risk, we can make a conclusion that Integrated Disaster Risk Management is the only way for China to decrease and reduce the earthquake disaster risk. 2.Chinas earthquake disaster risk management: experience and lessons 2.1 The Chinese government Disaster management can be divided into four stages, including monitoring and warning, prevention, emergency response and reconstruction(Xiao Pengjun, 2006).This article will analyze the earthquake disaster management capacity of the Chinese government from the four stages. 2.1.1 Monitoring and warning In the Wenchuan earthquake, two problems should call for our attention, firstly, the weak earthquake monitoring technology; Secondly, the lack of unified and authority disaster information distribution system. The United States is the first country to report the magnitude and epicenter of the Wenchuan earthquake, which was 10-20 minutes earlier than China. At that time the United States was at midnight, while China was in the daytime, from which we can see that the earthquake science and technology of China has fell behind the times. When the earthquake occurred, the public communication system of the disaster area totally collapsed , causing the hardest-hit area to become i slands of information, resulting in the rescue delay(Hu Shiquan, 2008). In the first few days, it was very difficult for the central government to make decisions because of lack of information. The government could not promptly bring the local governments and departments into play. It had serious impact on disaster assessment, relief arrangements, resource allocation , policy adjustments and other decision-making. Besides, the experts of Seismological Bureau came under severe censure because they did not release earthquake warning in advance. On the contrary, the Japanese government released an earthquake warning a few seconds ahead of a big earthquake and that saved thousands of life. With the advent of information age, there still exist problems of disaster information release. Many government officials do not have the sense to deal with the media and fully prepare to guide the public opinion. (Yi Liqi,2008) On the contrary, local governments tend to control the newspaper and r estrict news and information of the disaster areas. As for infrastructure construction, although the functional departments like civil defense, health, public security, transportation all have their own information systems, cross-functional communication is poor and the information resources are not integrated. The collection, collation, aggregation of public safety information is scattered and it is difficult for the government to conduct a comprehensive disaster monitoring and early warning. Thus, it is essential for the government to establish an authoritative disaster information release system. 2.1.2 Prevention Earthquake is a typical random event, therefore, by its very nature, we cannot make an accurate forecast or warning for its occurrence, so key to disaster management is pre-disaster prevention. Effective disaster management can reduce actual damage and loss arising from the disaster. Disaster management refers to the whole process in which the organizations carry o ut a variety of resource planning, coordination, integration and implementation activities. It takes disaster risk decrease and reduction as the purpose and is based on prevention and preparedness prior to the disaster occurrence. It is a combination of emergency response, disaster recovery and disaster mitigation (Comfort, L.K ,2005).The effective operation of the disaster management system should rely on the interaction of governmental institutions, civil society and business services. But the reality is that the Chinese government needs improvement in disaster management, especially disaster risk prevention. Song Ruixiang, former director of China Earthquake Administration, has said that China does well in rescue during the earthquake and reconstruction after the earthquake, while it is poor in prevention prior to the earthquake. Japan is earthquake-prone country, but the government conducts integrated disaster risk management. The Japanese government authorizes September 1th as the disaster drill Day and it distributes manuals to tell the civil how to cope with the earthquake. In Chile, another country with frequent earthquakes, the government conducts three earthquake drills every year for the students, while China is lack of civil education and public awareness of disaster response. 2.1.3 Response When the Wenchuan earthquake suddenly fell, the Chinese government started all the earthquake relief work within two hours. It took only more than one hour from the central government to activate the contingency plans and just two hours for the deploy of the army to head for disaster-affected areas. In the case of all roads leading to the affected areas impassable, tens of thousands of soldiers forced marched into the disaster areas for rescue in heavy rain and aftershocks. The Chinese government showed its coordination and organizational capacity in the earthquake response(Desheng Dash Wu Jiuping Xu,2009). For the release of information in the earthqu ake, the Chinese government released first-hand information timely and journalists were not much restricted for news gathering. The government released daily figures about the deaths and the rescue progress. People had access to the newest information about the disaster relief. However, some local governments tried to control the media and covered up the losses, resulting in lack of concern about the disaster-hit areas. Several counties in northern Gansu also suffered earthquake, but the local government did not allow journalists to visit the areas and release information about the affected areas, leading to lack of timely rescue. (Shi Xuehua Deng Jiwen,2009)When the Wenchuan earthquake happened, only Phoenix TV instantly reported the earthquake. We had official information on the network ten minutes later than that we got from foreign news websites. The spokesman for the China Earthquake Administration just briefly overviewed the situation and did not satisfy the public demand for more information on the earthquake. He read a statement hastily and did not give the opportunity for the reporters present to ask questions. Such thing proved that the government still lacks experience when dealing with public emergency. The coordination capacity of the government has yet to be improved. Dealing with public crisis calls for close cooperation and mutual coordination between government functional departments and social groups. However, Chinese administrative departments are fragmented and any policy implementation needs much time. When disaster occurs, this kind of management system cannot quickly operates and public resources cannot be effectively deployed and utilized. Disaster management asks for collaboration of different departments, but we do not have a unified disaster management coordinating institution, and the resources and power in fact is scattered in Production Safety Supervision Bureau , Quality Supervision Inspection , Quarantine Bureau, Municipal A dministration Commission, the Public Security Bureau, Health Bureau, Trade and Industry Bureau, drug supervision Bureau, Civil Air Defense Office and other functional departments. The relevant functional departments lack of share of disaster management resources and information, and there is no early warning system and a unified coordination system. The government is not fully acquainted with disaster information within the region. The response capacity to various types of disasters has to be improved. 2.1.4 Recovery and reconstruction Within a month after the earthquake, the Chinese government announced the post-earthquake reconstruction work plan and introduced a number of documentation about earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction. It set up the National Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Planning Group. The State Council formulated and promulgated the Regulations of post-earthquake restoration and reconstruction, and made a tentative scheduled to complete the reconstructi on work in eight years. We look forward to the reconstruction work in Wenchuan all going well. At the same time, the Chinese government should enhance earthquake monitoring and forecasting in those areas where earthquake is possible to occur. 2.2 NGOs After the Wenchuan earthquake, domestic and international non-governmental organizations immediately took actions and they had played an irreplaceable role in disaster rescue and relief. But we can easily see that non-governmental organizations have the problems of disorder, weaknesses, trust and capacity deficit and mismanagement of relief funds. (Cui Yan, 2009)Therefore, studying the role of NGOs in earthquake disaster risk management and discussing how the government can guide NGOs for health development is particularly important. 2.2.1 The role of NGOs 1. NGOs respond to disaster risk and provide emergency aid service. Non-governmental organizations play an important role in rescue and emergency aid. (Farazmanda A., 2001) They involve in all aspects of disaster management, from fund-raising, transportation, supplies, disaster relief, order maintenance to care provision. In post-earthquake reconstruction and recovery, they provided essential services in supplies, person nel, information, technology and psychological counseling. After the earthquake in Wenchuan, China Red Cross Society, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and many other charitable and nonprofit organizations took action immediately and participated in the rescue and relief. NGOs even formed a joint office in the front-line of the areas affected. By May 18, international NGOs involved in humanitarian relief in Sichuan were more than ten. After the earthquake, the NGOs quickly donated and collected supplies worth nearly ten million yuan. (Sina,2008)Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Henry Tang said that by June 19, the SAR Government had taken money totaling 27.25 million HK dollars from the disaster relief fund to support the operations of Hong Kong non-governmental organizations in Sichuan provinces. The funds were used for emergency rescue through the Hong Kong Red Cross, World Vision, Oxfam, the Amity Foundation and other agencies. (Showchi na,2008) 2. Non-governmental organizations supervise the usage of public resources and performance of public services Every disaster management activity is associated with deployment and usage of a large number of public resources, and the deployment is non-routine and emergent(Laurie Pearce,2003). Legitimate and effective usage of public resources is not only important, but also tend to cause problems. The rich experience and the supervisory role of NGOs now can give full scope to public resources. In the earthquake relief, some non-governmental organizations made reasonable suggestions to the relief agencies, such as food safety, psychological problems and so on, which are beneficial for the rescue service. 3. NGOs discover hidden crisis, provide professional advice in disaster prevention. Many non-governmental organizations have a large number of highly qualified experts with much professional knowledge and practical experience. They form social group based on their inte rest and responsibility sense. They provide information, use their expertise to observe the society. The advice they offer on disaster risk is of great significance. 2.2.2 Bring NGOs into play We should also note that there are still some factors to restrict the role of non-governmental organizations. The most important reason is that the government does not well coordinate the power of NGOs and properly deal with the relationship with them. Meanwhile, Chinas NGOs is still immature in human resources management and operations. Therefore, the government should actively support the development of NGOs, and enhance supervision and management to guide and promote the role of them. 1. Properly deal with the relationship between government and NGOs. Government is the leading force in response to disaster relief and NGOs are also indispensible. In order to bring into full play the initiative, wisdom and power of the NGOs, the government must accurately position itself, change g overnmental functions, remodeling public service concept and give more autonomy to the NGOs. At the same time, NGOs should actively participate in the recovery and reconstruction work planed by the government, and carry out the work according to the specific needs of the government. The government and NGOs should cooperate and compete with each other in public service sector and bring their advantages into full play. Meanwhile, the government should further strengthen the public information distribution system and pay attention to the establishment of resource coordination and integration mechanism. Through the information platform, the NGOs can be fully informed of the problems to be solved and advancement of the reconstruction work, and achieve information share and functions interaction between the government and NGOs, thus to improve the efficiency of the reconstruction and recovery work. 2. Establish disaster emergency response system to promptly convene and integrate NGO s and other civil groups. During the initial period of the earthquake, volunteers across the country, various non-governmental organizations from all over the world rushed to the earthquake-stricken areas and their contribution was indelible. However, organizational disorder, poor information access and capacity deficit resulted in waste of social resources and confusion. The reason was that the government had not yet set up a department to deal with great disasters and lacked of a comprehensive disaster management system. The relief headquarters established in a hurry were not competent for disaster response and policy arrangements. The United States establishes social networks to mobilize non-governmental organizations and community members to participate in disaster relief. Norway government establishes civil defense emergency rescue system, and gives full play to the efficiency of civil society and the masses in disaster management. International experience shows that esta blishment of effective disaster emergency response system has become a priority. Therefore, the Government should enhance emergency response capacity to serious natural disasters, improve emergency relief system, regulate emergency relief activities and give scope to the sensitivity and flexibility of NGOs. 3. Strengthen supervision and management of NGOs, especially the collection and use of funds. On the one hand, the government should create development opportunities for NGOs, on the other hand, it must establish an effective legal and social supervision system and create a regulated development environment for NGOs. Generally speaking, NGOs lack market competition mechanism, thus they tend to be inefficient. The establishment of third-party monitoring and evaluation mechanism is an urgent task in post-earthquake reconstruction, and also necessary for the healthy development of non-governmental organizations in the future. 3. Integrated disaster risk management According to Zhang Jiquan(2006), the so-called integrated natural disaster risk management is that people identify, analyze and evaluate various natural disaster risk, and comprehensively use legal, administrative, economic, technological, engineering and educational means accordingly. It improves the capacity of the government in disaster management and disaster prevention through integration of organizational and social resources. It will effectively prevent, respond to and mitigate natural disasters, protect the public interest and peoples lives and property, and achieve the sustainable development of the society(George D. Haddow et al., 2008). From the late 20th century on , with the deepening and application of risk management concept, some international organizations have formed unique disaster risk management frameworks, among them the mainstream include the frameworks of the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC), Emergency Management Australia (EMA) and the Asian Dis aster Reduction Center (ADRC). 3.1 IRGC IRGC thinks that the objective of risk management is to maximize the benefits of disaster reduction with the minimum cost. The risk management of IRGC is to help people make decisions under very complex and uncertain conditions, therefore the IRGCs risk management framework also fully considers the risk brought by the social background in which the disaster management is implemented, in addition to standard risk assessment, management and communication. IRGC framework consists of five parts: ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"  Pre-assessment. Develop early warning and risk management framework to further provide relevant background information for various practical problems. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å" ¡ Risk analysis. Based on assessment of risk source and the interest of risk undertakers, the framework will tell the decision makers what risk to face and the possible consequences. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å" ¢ Risk assessment. According to the results of risk analysis, different risk undertakers judge the risk based on their assessment criteria and manage the risk accordingly. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å" £ Risk management. Design and implement risk reduction measures, including avoidance, reduction, transfer, disaster preparedness and so on. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å" ¤ Communication. Let the risk undertakers understand the risk and participate in the decision-making and fully understand the role of risk management and believe each other during the process.( Renn O.,2006) Figure 1: IRGC risk governance framework: core process( Renn O.,2006) 3.2 EMA More comprehensive risk management framework is ERM (Emergency Risk Management Framework) brought forward by Emergency Management Australia (EMA). ERM highlights communication and control in the whole process of risk management to achieve dynamism  and efficiency. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"  Communication and exchange. EMA successfully emphasizes on involvement of various stakeholders in the whole process of risk management, so as to make people understand and support the risk management programs and measures. Communication and exchange have at least three advantages: Firstly, to heighten awareness of risk and understanding of the principles of risk management; Secondly, to ensure that different views of stakeholders will be fully taken into account; Thirdly, to let all participants understand their roles and responsibilities. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å" ¡ Monitoring and feedback. As risk is rarely static, the change of environment will affect the rationality of metho ds and measures taken in risk management , so monitoring and feedback mechanisms should be set up for every key point to ensure effective risk management. Risk management should repeatedly monitor every aspect of the risk, especially when the following phenomenon appear: a new method is applied to the management; a new request is to be added to the management; new management ideas and experience are added; new data is put into the system(EMA,2000). Following is a risk management framework suggested by John Handmer Dovers(2008). The framework informed by elements of Bridgman and Davis (2004) Australian policy cycle and the emergency risk management process (EMA 2000), itself based on the Australian/New Zealand Risk Management Standard. The framework combines an understanding of both policy and disasters. It represents a comprehensive and integrated framework and checklist, not a prescriptive model or sequence. Figure 2: Framework for emergency management policy development (Han dmer and Dovers, 2008) 3.3 ADRC ADRC and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN / OCHA) establish the Total Disaster Risk Management (TDRM) based on disaster relief experience, particular the practice experience of Asia. Two basic principles of TDRM are taking all the stakeholders into account and apply disaster risk management to all stages. TDRM system has three parts: ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"   Disaster risk management process. ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å" ¡ Disaster risk management cycle: TDRM considers the whole process of disaster risk management as prevention / mitigation preparedness emergency response recovery / reconstruction.ÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å" ¢ Specific disaster mitigation measures, such as legislation on disaster relief, disaster management education and so on. The framework of TDRM is almost the same with EMA(Alan March Susan Henry,2007). Figure 3: ADRCs disaster risk management framework (TDRM) (Alan March Susan Henry,2007) 3.4 Japans integrated disaster risk management Japan is said to be the country with most earthquakes in the world, and about 10% of the earthquakes occurred in Japan and its surrounding areas.(Liu Dan,2009)Nearly 1000 earthquakes that can be felt happened every year. Japan has done a lot of researches and exploration in earthquake disaster risk management and has accumulated considerable experience. In the disaster management agency, Japan set up special disaster prevention department, and establishes central and local disaster prevention and mitigation information systems and emergency response system. Once the state suffers a serious disaster, the Prime Minister will serve as commander in chief. The Japanese government has spread disaster prevention and relief knowledge to the masses for a long time(Takaaki Kato,2008) Earthquake Special Measures Law stipulates that September 1st is National Disaster Prevention Day, and the time from August 30 to September 5 is the National Disaster Prevention Week. Japan has many earthquak e museums open to the public free of charge around the whole country. With the year-round announcement of disaster prevention and relief, the disaster awareness deeply rooted in the Japanese people. Japan has the most advanced earthquake early warning system in the world. If the predicted earthquake magnitude is more than 5.0, the Meteorological Agency will release emergency warnings to all the areas with magnitude of above 4.0 through television, radio, phone and alarm system terminal facilities. On June 14 2008, an earthquake with magnitude 7.2 happened in the northeastern region of Japan, and the emergency warning system played a certain effect and saved thousands of lives. In 1966, Japan promulgated the earthquake insurance law. The reinsurance system is built under the support of the government, and has had a number of improvements and refinements. The coverage is expanded and premium rate is revised. The latest amend was in 2007. (OECD,2009)The system requires all the in surance companies fund the establishment of the Japanese Earthquake Reinsurance Company, which is responsible for the earthquake reinsurance business. The earthquake insurance system disperses the financial burden and disaster risk of the government, which can not only greatly reduce the financial burden of the government but also ensure that people can restore the social stability and production as soon as possible.(Teng Ying et al., 2009)ÃÆ' ¦Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"-ÃÆ' ¨Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ » ÃÆ' ¦Ãƒâ€¹Ã…“ ¾ÃƒÆ' §Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¤Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ºÃƒÆ' ¥Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¹ÃƒÆ' ¥Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ºÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ÃƒÆ' §Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾ÃƒÆ' ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ °ÃƒÆ' ¤Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¸Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ÃƒÆ' ¥Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ­-ÃÆ' §Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦ÃƒÆ' §Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾ÃƒÆ' ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¹Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¼ÃƒÆ' ©Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¸Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ³ ÃÆ' ¥Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ­-ÃÆ' ¥Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¸ ÃÆ' ¦Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¸Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¥ÃƒÆ' §Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¹ÃƒÆ' ¥Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ­-ÃÆ' ¥Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒâ €šÃ‚ ¸ÃƒÆ' ¨Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¦ÃƒÆ' §Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ »Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  ÃƒÆ' ¥Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ÃƒÆ' ¥Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ®Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¹ 4. Conclusions From the perspective of disaster risk management, this article discusses and appraises issues in Chinas earthquake disaster risk management seen from the Wenchuan earthquake, which is combined with international experience in disaster risk management. It can be summed up that: (1) The organizational and mobilization capacity of Chinese government in the earthquake shocked the whole world, and the government successfully completed the rescue and relief work in the shortest time. However, while it has done a great job in relief and reconstruction, the earthquake highlighted the deficiencies of the Chinese government in disaster early warning, prevention and emergency response. (2) Non-governmental organizations took quick actions in the earthquake and played an irreplaceable role. However, to further give play to their agility and flexibility, things should be done under the guidance of the government. The government should properly deal with the relations with NGOs, improve in tegration of social resources and strengthen supervision. (3) Integrated disaster risk management is the most effective means to conduct a comprehensive disaster reduction and relief. Through disaster risk management, the severity of the disaster can be greatly reduced and it has a high cost benefit ratio. Integrated disaster risk reduction and management should star from prevention, which is an opinion consistent with Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Strengthening the Resilience of Nations and Communities proposed in the Second World Conference on Disaster Reduction on January 2005. It emphasizes on risk identify, analysis and evaluation, thereby reducing potential risk and decreasing the severity of the disaster significantly through comprehensive disaster risk management.