Continental Europe

As most countries of continental Europe base their legal systems on civil law, they follow methods of criminal procedure very different from those found in common-law countries. Often described as the inquisitorial procedure, this method emphasizes the role of the judge. Many countries in Europe (as well as civil-law countries in Latin America) also maintain the principle of full, or mandatory, prosecution, which officially means that prosecutors have no discretion at all. In theory at least, prosecutors must prosecute any and all crimes that come to their attention, according to the letter of the law and without regard for public sentiment. (However, even in those countries, prosecutors necessarily exercise at least some discretion.) The judge is normally responsible for calling and questioning all witnesses, and the process is not separated into two distinct phases of trial and sentencing. The tribunal may consist of several judges, or a combination of judges and lay assessors, who deliberate together on both conviction and sentence. The rules of evidence are generally less restrictive; materials that would be considered hearsay in common-law countries are often admitted, and information about the accused person’s prior record is available to the tribunal. In addition, most countries utilizing civil law do not permit conviction on the basis of a plea of guilty. Although the accused may be willing to admit guilt, the court is still required to investigate the evidence fully. Another major difference between civil- and common-law procedure is that the decision of the tribunal in civil-law countries is normally accompanied by a statement of reasons—unlike common-law verdicts, which usually simply announce the guilt or acquittal of a defendant. Regarding sentencing, the law in civil-law countries identifies penalties with considerable detail and considerable specificity for the entire range of criminal offenses, so judges have very little discretion.

A civil-law institution without parallel in common law is France’s unified magistracy, whose members include judges and prosecuting attorneys. Both the prosecuting attorneys and the judges work for the national justice ministry, whose central administration is also a part of the unified magistracy. Prosecuting attorneys receive the same training as judges, and their primary responsibility is to seek justice rather than solely a conviction.

Russia

In Russia in 1722, Tsar Peter I created a “procuracy” office that was responsible not only for prosecution but also for overseeing the entire criminal-justice system, including the police and the courts. That system was reformed in 1864, when prosecutorial power was again restricted to the prosecution of cases. An independent judiciary and trial by jury also were instituted in the reforms of 1864, but both were eliminated after the Russian Revolution of 1917. The procuracy was revived during the Soviet period, when prosecutors became the central administrators of the entire justice system. Trials were heard by a panel consisting of one career judge and two “people’s assessors,” all of whom were appointed by local Communist Party officials.

The contemporary Russian court system is based on civil law. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, laws were passed both to ensure the independence of judges from local politics and to reinstate trial by jury. Prosecutorial supervision of the courts also was eliminated, but prosecutors still maintained fairly broad powers.

Islamic countries

Some Islamic countries of English and French colonial heritage adopted the procedure of the colonial countries that ruled them. For example, Pakistan, which originally inherited the Indian Criminal Procedure Code, adopted an adversarial system similar to that of England. Both sides in a trial present their oral arguments to an impartial judge, and there is a competent and independent bar from whose ranks judges are chosen. The regular courts were supplemented by special Islamic courts and judges beginning in 1980.

By contrast, the criminal procedure of Egypt, which adopted an inquisitorial system, generally mirrors that of France. Judges have a high degree of power to question, to intervene, and to determine the method of proceeding. Egypt also has established the Niyaba, a system of state prosecutors very similar to those of the French unified magistracy. Egyptian judges, unlike their English and Pakistani counterparts, are often career officials.

In Islamic states, ordinary criminal courts are often supplemented by police courts, which tend to deal with lesser criminal offenses, and military courts, which hear questions affecting security and military matters. In countries (e.g., Saudi Arabia and Iran) where the legal system is principally derived from Shariʿah (traditional Islamic law), Islamic judges, called qadis, exercise jurisdiction. In these countries, sentences are largely determined by Shariʿah. The most-serious offenses, ḥadd crimes, have punishments that are fixed and unalterable. Less-serious offenses (taʿzīr) allow judges discretion in sentencing offenders. In addition, for certain offenses (jinayat), the victim or the victim’s family is allowed by law to take retaliatory action against the offender or the offender’s family.

Africa

The court systems in African countries generally follow the systems of the former colonial rulers. In the common-law countries this means that, though there is state prosecution, considerable responsibility falls on the police forces to initiate prosecutions. In some countries, such as Sudan and parts of Nigeria, where Indian legal influence was strong, versions of the Indian Criminal Procedure Code were adopted; in those places the magistrate, rather than the police, takes charge of the investigation and levels charges. Other countries blend customary or traditional law with modern legal systems.

China

The Chinese penal system broadly divides procedures and sanctions into criminal and administrative categories; in this way, crimes are distinguished from ordinary illegal acts. Crime is defined as behaviour punishable by a court under the criminal law or other laws calling specifically for criminal punishment for violators. Ordinary illegal acts can be punished administratively by nonjudicial bodies (such as the police) on their own initiative and according to less-formal procedures. In general, administrative punishments cannot be appealed to a court.

The distinction between crimes and acts that are merely illegal often depends on the concept of circumstances (e.g., the identity of the accused or the victim, the existence of an official campaign against the particular type of crime involved, or even such matters as whether a robber also beat his victim or showed repentance). Although many countries take such factors into account in sentencing, Chinese law differs by allowing circumstances to bring an act within or entirely outside the coverage of the criminal law and, more important, the associated criminal procedural law, the only type of law in China that provides for a public trial by a court and the right to a defense. The law itself frequently uses only general terms such as “minor,” “serious,” or “very serious” to describe criminal acts, and the exact meaning of those words is then left up to the officials who administer the law. This is a major source of the extensive discretion that Chinese officials have in deciding criminal cases. For instance, a person suspected of selling pornographic books may, if the police deem the circumstances clearly minor, be judged by the police and punished by up to 15 days’ detention in a police station. Otherwise, the case could be tried in criminal court, where the offender would be subject to much more severe punishments. Even when the law is more specific, officials have considerable discretion.