Comparative Criminal Justice

1
Comparative Criminal Justice

• Six Model Nations
• England, France, Germany
• China, Japan,
• Saudi Arabia

2
Legal Traditions(Distinct Approaches)

• England Unitary Common Law
• France Unitary Civil Law
• Germany Federal Civil Law
• China Socialist Law
• Japan Civil Law hybrid system national
  tradition and merging foreign cultures.
• Saudi Arabia Islamic Law
• A unitary government means that governmental
  power is centralized rather than being divided
  between states and a central government as in a
  federal system such as the U.S. and Germany.

3
Crime Issues

• England drugs, terrorism, immigration, money
  laundering. Minority rights.
• France drugs, terrorism, immigration, hate
  crime. Racial tension cultural conflict.
• Germany drugs, immigration, hate crime.
  Right-wing extremism and ethnic violence.
• China organized crime (drugs, guns, smuggling,
  gambling), corruption, gangs, and economic crime.
• Japan drugs and organized crime (Boryokudan).
• Saudi Arabia drug crimes.

4
Question

• Which of the following
• domestic and/or transnational crimes
• do you think
• is having the greatest effect on
• crime rates and crime policies?
• Immigration, drug trafficking, or terrorism?

5
Crime Rate

• England low-moderate 9,928 per 100,000 (2001)
  increase since late 90s.
• France low-moderate 6,932 per 100,000 (2002)
  increase since late 90s.
• Germany low-moderate 7,893 per 100,000 (2002)
  decrease since late 90s.
• China low 163 per 100,000 (1998) increased
  through the 90s.
• Japan low 2,210 per 100,000 (2001) increased
  through the 90s.
• Saudi Arabia low 157 per 100,000 (2001)
  increased through the 90s (highest rate of
  increase).

6
Question

• Do you think homogeneity has an effect on crime
  rates in individual countries?
• If so, in what way?

7
Crime Policy

• England criminal justice reform and get tough
  policies.
• France get tough and zero tolerance
  policies.
• Germany reunification policies.
• China strike hard campaigns modification of
  criminal procedure laws increase in the death
  penalty for a variety of crimes.
• Japan starting to adopt get tough crime
  policies.
• Saudi Arabia harsh punishments including the
  death penalty for drug trafficking religious
  based culture (Koran) inhibits crime.

8
Government

• England A monarchy, however, the Prime Minister
  leads the nation. Parliament is the supreme
  power Cabinet members administer the police,
  courts, and corrections. Elected and hereditary
  representation.
• France A unitary republic, a president and
  elected representatives.
• Germany A federal republic. General power is
  in the hands of the chancellor not the president.
  Elected representatives.
• China A unitary socialist government
  subordinate to the Chinese Communist party.
  Primary organs include the presidency, the State
  Council and the National Peoples Congress.
• Japan A unitary constitutional monarchy (the
  emperor is ceremonial) with a prime minister and
  three branches of government. Elected
  representation.
• Saudi Arabia A nonconstitutional monarchy the
  king is the chief of state and head of
  government. The king selects the Council of
  Ministers. No system of election or
  representation.

9
Constitution and Laws

• England no written constitution, rely on
  constitutional traditions, compacts, and Common
  Law no penal code.
• France constitution of the Fifth Republic
  (1958) penal code.
• Germany the constitution is called the Basic
  Law (1949) German law is a combination of
  statutes, ordinances, and administrative rules.
• China no constitution, a movement from the
  rule of man to the rule of law
  (1979-present) informal social control.
• Japan a new constitution following World War II.
  Criminal code that is predominantly German in
  nature.
• Saudi Arabia no separate or formal
  constitution, however, the Basic Law (1993) and
  the Sharia fulfill a similar purpose some
  consider the Quran to be such. No published
  penal codes Islamic law. Sacred Law tradition.
  

10
Legal System

• England Common Law and statutes.
• France unity of civil and criminal courts.
• Germany reflects both Civil Law tradition and
  Common Law tradition.
• China centrally monitored hierarchical court
  system (courts are typically in collaboration
  with local political leaders to meet the ideals
  of the Communist party).
• Japan hierarchical system modeled after
  European Civil Law and English-American legal
  traditions. Informal procedures such as
  compromise and mediation.
• Saudi Arabia the king is the highest court of
  appeal in the land and is responsible for
  judicial appointments to religious courts.

11
Police

• England Home Secretary.
• France The Police Nationale and the Gendarmerie
  Police.
• Germany The Laender or state governments
  administer police functions not contrary to the
  Basic Law.
• China Supreme Peoples Procurate.
• Japan National Police Safety Commission
  (administrative) and the National Police Agency
  (manages police duties).
• Saudi Arabia Centralized and controlled by the
  minister of the interior.

12
Corrections

• England Home Secretary.
• France Ministry of Justice.
• Germany The Laender or state government
  administer corrections not contrary to the Basic
  Law.
• China Supreme Peoples Procurate.
• Japan Ministry of Justice and the Prison Bureau.
• Saudi Arabia Scrutiny by government-appointed
  religious leaders.

13
Question

• How have the concepts of
• content, context, and time
• affected these
• six nations?