Bounty Hunter Legality?

[Enola Straight]

Is Bounty Hunting a legal trade in the Empire or Republic?

In the USA, a bounty hunter is an agent of the Courts who retrieves fugitives from justice.

Boba Fett, Bossk, and others seem to be simply hired to kidnap ANYBODY under contract.

[Solauren]

I think you need a liscence under the Republic. (Don't qoute me on that)

in the Empire, I don't think anyone gives a rats as, as Slaving is legal

[Darth Garden Gnome]

Is Bounty Hunting a legal trade in the Empire or Republic?

Let us not forget that Darth Vader enlisted the help of bounty hunters (specifically Boba Fett) on numerous occaisons. From the EU they had their own guild. So it appears it is quite legal, and a thriving business.

Boba Fett, Bossk, and others seem to be simply hired to kidnap ANYBODY under contract.

Kidnap, murder, steal, find, protect and anything else you can think of. There such a wide range of bounty hunters in the profession it seems likely you'd be able to find a gun-for-hire for just about everything.

[Master of Ossus]

Is Bounty Hunting a legal trade in the Empire or Republic?

In the USA, a bounty hunter is an agent of the Courts who retrieves fugitives from justice.

Boba Fett, Bossk, and others seem to be simply hired to kidnap ANYBODY under contract.

Bounty Hunting is legal, and in fact it appears that bounty-hunting in the form that Zuckuss, Fett, Bossk and company practice is also legal. In "Tales...", 4-LOM believed that the New Republic would use bounty hunters, and would contract with Zuckuss after it came to power, indicating that what they do is legal. However, this appears to be inconsistent since almost all the equipment that these hunters use is highly illegal (particularly the Slave-1). Thus we have a discrepency. I would posit that the governmental forces are willing to turn a blind eye to most bounty-hunters and their equipment, provided that they follow certain restrictions having to do with bounty-hunting, or simply that they are afraid of the hunters and are unwilling to risk a confrontation.

[Publius]

Bounty hunting is legal, insofar as it involves the pursuit of approved bounties (when a bounty on the Lord Serenno was posted in HoloNet News, the Republic condemned it not on the grounds of illegality, but on the grounds that it was not a bounty approved by the Judicial Department). However, not all bounties are legal, nor is the legality of the trade necessarily extended to the methods or equipment used.

PUBLIUS

[Boba Fett]

Bounty hunting is legal in the SW galaxy, although most of the time the hunters balance on the borderline between legality and illegality.

For an example, to place a bounty on Solo just because he lost a shipment of spice is illegal, since the reason why he received the bounty on his head was illegal also.

Anyways, the bounty hunters are more concerned about money, than moral standards or judical point of view and on the other hand the Empire can be "forgiving" - think about the story of Dengar or Zuckuss + 4LOM - as long as they don't do something highly stupid thing or as long as they are available when they are needed.

Assuming all, anyone can hire a bounty hunter - if he has enough money to "solve" his problems - for any task.
If you have a problem with your neighbour you can hire a bounty hunter to assassinate him. That puts them to the same level where criminals are, who are hunted by the bounty hunters.

What a paradoxon...

Ps: A licence were needed in the Old Republic, but I don't think you need it in the Empire. You don't even have to be a member of the Guild, just like Boba Fett.

[The Cleric]

Under the Empire, bounty hunting is leagal, but the party that put out the contract must file some sort of list of grievances as to why the contract was put out (Tales of the Bounty Hunters, the Dengar story).

[Wild Karrde]

IRC something in the SW encylopedia said that the OR employed bounty hunter droids to capture escaped prisoners etc. and that this became corrupted in the later years resulting in bounty hunter droids along the lines of IG-88 and 4-LOM.

[PainRack]

Why can't bounty hunting be both legal and illegal? You know, a certain individual, working for both sides of the law depending on his mood?

[Sea Skimmer]

Why can't bounty hunting be both legal and illegal? You know, a certain individual, working for both sides of the law depending on his mood?

Perhaps, or maybe you need a five-dollar permit, but only one person was assigned to process the billions of applications, and they saved up enough sick days to stay home until retirement.

[Publius]

Why can't bounty hunting be both legal and illegal? You know, a certain individual, working for both sides of the law depending on his mood?

It is quite legal for registered bounty hunters to pursue, apprehend, and retain custody of subjects designated by the appropriate lawful authorities. However, this does not mean that all bounties are legally placed, or that all bounty hunters are registered, or that all registered bounty hunters pursue only legitimate bounties. Nor does it mean that any and all methods used in pursuit of a legitimate bounty by a registered hunter are themselves legal.

PUBLIUS