PENALTY (Fr. pt'nalite. from INIL. peewit itas, punishment, from Lot. pre/m/is, relating to punishment, from turnu, minishment, from Gk.
poi n punishment; connected with tincin, Skt. ci, to avenge). In the broad est sense, punishment of any kind for violations of law or h•gal duty, as the 'death penalty.' Usually, however, a 'penalty' is a sum of money the payment of which is required by law as a minisliment for an offense, or omission to comply some statutory provision. In this sense, a penalty is usually imposed for a violation of the law less serious in its nature than a crime. which is roman, in. se (q.v.). For example, a neglect to conform to sanitary regulations generally sub jeets the offender to payment of a sum of money imposed as a penalty, which is considered as eommensurate with the gravity of the offense. Except in aggravated eases, imprisonment would be too severe for omissions of the above nature. A penalty differs but little from a fine in its nature and purposes. As penalties are common ly imposed for the least serious violations of the law, which are. for that reason. not so likely to
come to the attention of the proper authorities. the statutes creating them often provide, as an inducement to persons to inform on offenders, that the whole or a part of the penalty shall go to the informer. In some jurisdictions t'he inform er may recover the amount of the penalty by civil action, and in others payment to the pub lic officials is enforced by the alternative of im prisonment, and the amount collected is then paid to the informer.
In the law of contracts the term penalty is applied to an arbitrary sum fixed by the parties to an agreement, to he paid by the one guilty of a breach thereof. This practice is no longer sanc tioned, and a slim fixed as a penalty cannot be recovered. Where, however, a sum is based on a calculation as to the probable amount of dam ages in case of a breach, it will be considered as 'liquidated damages' (q.v.), and payment en forced.