A key part of comparative criminal justice involves learning about justice systems from different parts of the world. This adds an international perspective to your understanding of law, including how different cultures and government systems influence how the criminal justice system is institutionalized and played out across the world. This holistic perspective is needed to solve international justice issues and is important if you ever want to work in a different country or for an international organization, such as the United Nations. Studying comparative criminal justice gives you a sound understanding of legal administration procedures and how organizations such as the police force function. These details will allow you to operate and progress within the legal system, understanding the work of your colleagues and competitors. This awareness also allows the students to gain a strong understanding of how the foundations of society operate and to pursue careers in lecturing and teaching, or to enter into the police force with further training. The student will examine the criminal justice systems of England, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan and Philippines in terms of the four families of law: Common Law, Civil Law, Socialist Law, and the Islamic (Sacred) Law. An analysis is made of the criminal procedure, constitutions, court systems, law enforcement agencies, and correction systems. It is important to understand that no criminal justice (be in the Middle East, Europe, or Asia) is ‘perfect’ as such. Each system may have certain strengths as well as limitations. The comparative approach helps us realize that we can learn to develop efficiency of any system by comparing it with other systems. In addition, what approach for law enforcement may work in one system may not work in the other? Systematic comparisons of criminal justice systems should provide us help in understanding what works or does not work depends on circumstances and cultural contexts. This course provides us insight into ways of evaluating our own criminal justice practices by enhancing the scope of planning to increase their efficiency
- Teacher: Jose Sherief Panelo