Judicial Systems in Different Countries

Criminal Law

1. Criminal law is to provide protection for the social and state system, the universal freedoms and personal rights of citizens against corrupt activities and criminal offences.

2. According to the object of a criminal activity is criminal law classifies crime:

- crimes of violence:vandalism, assault, battery, mugging, robbery, kidnapping, homicide,

- crimes committed for political reasons: hijacking, terrorism, assassination, treason,

- crimes connected with drugs: possession of drugs, drug traffic,

- crimes involving stealing or theft crimes;

- crimes committed by people in business or by office holders (so called "white-collar crimes"): bribery, money laundering, perjury, computer crimes,

- car crimes: joy riding, drink driving, etc.

3. Criminal law also classifies a crime with respect to its gravity, such as treason, felony, and misdemeanor and fixes punishments for them.

4. It also included rules and procedures for preventing and investigating crimes and prosecuting criminals

5. Criminal law is based on a number of universal principles.

- a person may be charged with criminal responsibility only if he has committed an act provided for in the criminal legislation;

- there is a presumption that the accused is innocent and the prosecution must prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt;

- responsibility can exist only in the presence of guilt;

- a person may not be considered guilty unless all elements of an alleged crime have been established in his acts;

- criminal punishment shall be applied only by a sentence of the court;

- persons committing crimes in a state of intoxication are not released from criminal responsibility.

6. The following  defences may excuse the accused from criminal responsibility:

- lack of age

- self-defence

defence of family members

- insanity

- duress by threats or duress of circumstances;

- automatism

- entrapment

Nature of Crime

1. Each crime consists of a number of individual elements.

2.  The sum total of those elements, are the corpus delicti, of a crime.

3. It characterizes the purpose of the criminal act, the form and method of a criminal action, the character of the guilty conduct and so forth.

4. The corpus delicti has several basic common elements:

- a vol­untary act or omission (actus reus);

-"a guilty mind" or "knowledge of the wrongfulness of conduct" (mens rea);

- "concurrence"between the mens reaand the actus reus;

- chain of causation.

5. The corpus delicti in any act is a ground for establishing criminal responsibility against the offender.

6. In pronouncing its sentence the court must above all answer these questions:

i) did the act ascribed to the accused actually take place?

ii) does it contain corpus delicti?

iii) was the act performed by the accused?

7. A crime may be committed by an act, or by an omission.

8. Premeditated criminal activity consists of several stages: preparation, attempt and commission.

9.Preparation of a crime is punishable offence.

10. An attempt is a premeditated act directly aimed at the commission of a crime but not completed for reasons not depending on the will of the guilty person. It is also a punishable offence.

11. Commission of a crime is considered as performed when the guilty person has carried out the act containing the corpus delicti of a crime.

12. In theory of crime there are two other legal categories: “object of crime” and “subject of crime”.

13. The subject of crime is a person who commits the crime has attained a certain age (usually 16 years of age) and are compos mentis .

14. The object of crime is under criminal law social relations guarded by criminal legislation.

Kinds of Cases

1. Civil cases are usually disputes between or among private citizens, corporations, governments, government agencies, and other organizations.

2. The party bringing the suit is called the plaintiff; the party being sued is called the defendant.

3. It is up to the plaintiff to prove the case against the defendant.

4. This is called the plaintiff’s burden of proof, a burden that the plaintiff must meet in order to win.

5. A criminal case is brought by the state or by a city or county against a person or persons accused of having committed a crime.

6. The state, city, or county is called the plaintiff; the accused person is called the defendant.

7. In a criminal cases the prosecution a heavy burden of proof, because the defendant's may louse levity out even life in a resolute of a criminal trial.

8. In criminal cases if there is any reasonable doubt whether the accused is guilty, he must be acquitted.

9. In England there is no middle verdict such as the Scottish verdict of "not proven" to cover this sort of situation; "not guilty" is the only alternative to a conviction.

10. That in certain cases corroboration is necessary and absence of corroboration is a bar to conviction

Judicial Systems in Different Countries

1. In all legal systems there are institutions for modifying,interpreting and applying the law.

2. Judicial system is branch of government established to administer justice.

3. There are a variety of courts because  a particular court can specialize in particular kinds of legal actions and if a person who is not satisfied with the decision of a lower court can appeal to a higher court for reassessment.

4. The decisions of a higher court are binding upon lower courts.

5. The structure and activities of their judicial system are determined by the Constitution and federal constitutional laws.

6. There are three main elements within this system:

- the Constitutional Court of the RF interprets the country’s Constitution;

- the Supreme Court is the highest judicial body of the four-tiered system of courts of general jurisdiction: civil, criminal, administrative and military cases;

- the Higher Arbitration Court is the supreme judicial body within the system of courts competent to settle economic disputes.

1. Judiciary in England and Wales is represented by two distinct divisions of courts with civil and criminal jurisdiction.

2. The lowest courts in civil actions are county courts which deal with claims within a general limit of 25,000 pounds.

3. Cases involving larger amounts of money are heard by one of the divisions of the High Court.

4.This court has unlimited civil jurisdiction and consists of three branches: the Queen’s Bench Division, the Chancery Division, and the Family Division.

5. There are two main types of English court with criminal jurisdiction:

- magistrates' courts with unpaid lay magistrates or Justices of the Peace, usually sitting in groups of three; these courts deal with about 95 per cent of criminal cases; and

- Crown Courts for more serious or indictable offences where hearing is held before a jury; the main function of the jury is to determine the guilt or innocence of the defendant; professional judges preside over the Crown Court and pass a sentence (if the defendant is found guilty).

6. Appeals from the High Court and county courts are heard in the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) and petitions of appeal against sentences of the Crown Court are examined in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

7. The highest court in the land is the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom which consists of 12 judges appointed by the Monarch.

1. Courts of general jurisdiction in the United States are subdivided into two principal systems: the federal courts, or United States courts, and the state courts.

2. Federal Courts have the power to rule on both criminal and civil cases. Judges of federal courts are appointed for life by the president with the approval of the Senate. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the nation. It interprets the laws and reviews them to determine whether they conform to the U.S. Cons­titution. All lower courts follow the rulings of the Supreme Court.

3. There are two other levels of federal courts:

- the courts of appeals in each of the 11 federal judicial circuits and in the District of Columbia;

- the US district courts in each of 94 federal judicial districts.

4. Each state has an independent system of courts operating under the constitution and laws of the state.

5. They highest appellate tribunals is the states in criminal and civil cases are Supreme court.

 6. A trial court consists of legally qualified judges, clerks and bailiffs.

The participants of the legal procedure: a plaintiff, a defendant, a jury , a prosecutor , an advocate, witnesses, experts.