Kautilya's Maxims
21
Conspiracy to Commit Robbery
(ArS 3/17:11-14)

Followers of Brhaspati: One who induces another to commit robbery and says "I accept the responsibility [for the intended crime]" shall pay double the prescribed fine. One who says "I will furnish any money required" shall pay four times the fine. One who offers [to his fellow conspirators] an exact amount, saying "I shall give so much," shall pay that sum plus the fine.

Kautilya: But if he should [successfully] plead anger, intoxication, or mental confusion, he shall pay only the prescribed fine.

Kautilya does not object to the distinctions made in the earlier opinion, but as before, he wants a certain situational leeway - a sliding scale - for judges in particular cases. This implies a sense of proportionality to the offense, not a mere whim on the part of the judge. Of the robbery itself, we may note its entrepreneurial nature. As here glimpsed, it not only has a planning process, but one or more associates or backers who invest money in its outcome. Robbery is a business.

The situational leeway or discretion accorded a Chinese official, in judging cases or in applying policy, is called chywaen. The word is etymologically related to the sliding weight on a steelyard balance. An early example is in LY 9:30a (c0405), where it means "exercise of discretion" or judgement in recommending policy alternatives. A crux in 04c Chinese military theory is how much discretion is allowed to a commander in the field, in implementing the details or the general intent of the ruler's orders. Early layers of the Sundz text (before c0320) assert such a right, but later layers (after c0315) reverse this position by revoking it. The ruler has grown stronger in the meantime.

 

Kautilya's Maxims is Copyright © 2001- by E Bruce and A Taeko Brooks

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