So much to write about but so little brainpower, so I thought i'd pen a few lines about ace trader Jérôme Kerviel, formerly of Société Générale and said to be responsible for losses amounting to 4.82 billion euros.
What do the law and politics have in common? When they strike, they strike very fast indeed! Seriously though, and at the risk of incurring the wrath of my good friend Maytrees, thorough deliberation and due process are all very well, but there are limits. Rab Butler once described politics as the art of the possible but I would define it as the art of kicking the can as far down the road as possible so that no meaningful decision is ever made until a given government has been safely voted out of office.
With regard to the law and just to take the example of Kerviel: Société Générale launched legal proceedings against him in January 2008. On 5th October 2010 he was found guilty of abuse of confidence and illegal access to computers. Kerviel decided to appeal against the sentence - as who wouldn't? In June of this year his appeal was turned down. Well, after four years and goodness knows how much in the way of legal fees, you would think that would be the end of the matter. But no, the judges in their wisdom have given themselves to October before coming to a decision on the exact sentence! I shall no doubt be accused of naiveté but I think this is symptomatic of a legal system that has taken leave of its senses. Having spent the best part of four years in reaching a verdict, how can the courts possibly need ANOTHER four months before pronouncing on a sentence? Shades of Little Dorrit! But that's the way justice seems to work nowadays.
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