THE PROVISIONAL REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT ISSUED THREE EXECUTIVE ORDERS TO DEAL WITH (1) THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PEOPLE'S COURTS AND THE CHAMBERS OF POPULAR CONTROL; (2) ARREST, CONFINEMENT, SEARCHING, AND INTERROGATION; AND (3) THE DESIGNATION OF OFFENSES AND DETERMINATION OF PUNISHMENT. UP TO MARCH 1976, THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM HAD BEEN CHARACTERIZED BY ITS HARSHNESS, AND FREQUENT DEATH SENTENCES; HOWEVER, TO THE SYSTEM'S CREDIT, ONLY PERSONS WHO ACTUALLY COMMITTED CRIMES WERE SENTENCED, THE DEATH PENALTY WAS ONLY PRONOUNCED AGAINST LEGITIMATE CRIMINALS, AND POLITICAL REEDUCATION WAS ALWAYS THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE TO EXECUTION. THE FOUNDATIONS AND PRINCIPLES OF THE NEW JUDICIAL SYSTEM COMBINED PENAL AND POLITICAL GOALS. THE NEW LEGISLATORS WERE INFLUENCED BY THE ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES AND THE DESIRE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE, THE LEGACY OF THE OLD REGIME (30 YEARS OF WAR AND CONSTANT VIOLENCE), CHAOS IN THE CITIES, AND THE REJECTION OF THE 'NEW ORDER' OF MAY 1, 1975 BY THE MEMBERS OF THE FORMER ARMY. THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE NEW SYSTEM CENTER ON THE SEVERE PUNISHMENT OF ENEMIES OF THE STATE, THE PROTECTION OF SOCIALIST INSTITUTIONS, AND THE REINDOCTRINATION AND EDUCATION OF THE CITIZENS TO ENABLE THEM TO TAKE AN ACTIVE PART IN THE NEW SOCIETY. AS A POLITICAL PENAL SYSTEM DIRECTLY INFLUENCED BY MARXISM, LENINISM, AND SOVIET PRINCIPLES, THE PENALTIES ARE EXTREMELY HARSH IN CASES OF CRIMES DIRECTED AT THE GOVERNMENT, OR DAMAGING TO THE REVOLUTION. THE COURT PROCEDURE ITSELF IS BASED ON SUCH DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES AS EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW, PUBLIC COURT SESSIONS, THE APPEAL SYSTEM, AND CONSIDERATION OF ETHNIC PECULIARITIES; THE PEOPLE'S COURTS TRY CIVIL AS WELL AS CRIMINAL CASES. SPECIAL POPULAR TRIBUNALS DEAL WITH CRIMES AND OFFENSES AGAINST THE NATIONAL ECONOMY, AND WITH THOSE WHO GIVE ASSISTANCE TO COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY GROUPS. ALTHOUGH THE PUNITIVE MEASURES ESTABLISHED MAY SEEM HARSH, SIGNIFICANT CRIME PREVENTION EFFORTS HAVE BEEN UNDERTAKEN IN A COMPREHENSIVE AND VIGOROUS CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE CAUSES OF CRIME, UNEMPLOYMENT, AND ILLITERACY. ON THE WHOLE, THERE IS A DISTINCT RESEMBLANCE TO THE SOVIET PENAL SYSTEM OF THE 1917-37 PERIOD AND ALSO TO THAT OF NORTH VIETNAM. THE LEGISLATORS JUSTIFY THE STRICT PROCEDURES AND PENALTIES BY INSISTING THAT THEY ARE ONLY TEMPORARY AND NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH THE SOCIALIST SOCIETY. FOR AN ENGLISH SUMMARY TRANSLATION, SEE NCJ-59507. --IN FRENCH. (MHP)