Comparative Criminal Justice

1. Comparative Criminal Justice Six Model Nations England, France, Germany China, Japan, Saudi Arabia

2. Legal Traditions(Distinct Approaches) • England:UnitaryCommon 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 90’s. • France: low-moderate; 6,932 per 100,000 (2002); increase since late 90’s. • Germany: low-moderate; 7,893 per 100,000 (2002); decrease since late 90’s. • China: low; 163 per 100,000 (1998); increased through the 90’s. • Japan: low; 2,210 per 100,000 (2001); increased through the 90’s. • Saudi Arabia: low; 157 per 100,000 (2001); increased through the 90’s (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 People’s 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 Shari’a fulfill a similar purpose; some consider the Qur’an 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 People’s 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 People’s 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?