Penalty (fine)
The sum of money which the obligor of a bond undertakes to pay in the event of his omitting to perform or carry out the terms imposed upon him by the conditions of the bond [Black, 1290].
Punishment for a crime. A penalty must be clearly stated before it can be enforced. When a statute creates an offense and specifies a penalty without saying how the offense is to be tried, there may be an implication that it is to be imposed by a magistrates' court. Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights forbids retrospective criminal penalties. This prohibition is now part of UK law as a consequence of the *Human Rights Act 1998. 2. A sum specified in a contract as payable on its breach but not constituting a genuine estimate of the likely loss [Martin, 361].
Fine is the penalty imposed upon a convicted person by a court requiring that s/he pay a specified sum of money. The word "penalty" is broader than the word "fine," which is always a penalty, whereas a penalty may be acceptable or it may designate some other form of punishment [Black, 759].
A sum of money that an offender is ordered to pay on conviction. Most *summary offenses are punishable by a fine with a fixed maximum, by a standard scale of five levels. These are currently (2001) as follows: level 1 - £200; level 2 - £500; level 3 - £1000; level 4 - £2500; level 5 - £5000. Under the Criminal Justice Act 1991, before fixing a fine, a court must enquire into the offender's financial circumstances, and the amount of the fine fixed by the court should, in addition, reflect the seriousness of the offense. Sometimes a provision is made for imprisonment in cases of failure to pay the fine. A fine may also be imposed instead of, or in addition to, any other punishment for someone convicted on indictment (except in cases of murder). This fine is at large, i.e., the amount is at the judge's discretion. Fines are often imposed upon companies for breach of statutory obligations; However, the sums may be relatively small; companies will try to avoid being fined because of the bad publicity this may cause. When imposing a fine on an offender under the age of 16 (see JUVENILE OFFENDER), the court is not customarily empowered to order the offender to pay the fine himself unless his parent or guardian cannot be found or it would be unreasonable in the circumstances to expect his parent or guardian to pay it. Otherwise, the offender pays unless payment by the parent or guardian is more appropriate. 2. A lump-sum payment by a tenant to a landlord for the grant or renewal of a lease [Martin, 203].
Black, H. C. (1968). Black's law dictionary (4th ed). St. Paul, Minn: West Publishing Co. Martin, E. A. (2003). A Dictionary of Law (5th ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press.