introduction to legal systems Flashcards
adversarial system
parties fight it out infront of the independent judiciary who acts as a referee
inquisitorial system
independent judiciary actively investigates the case and with help of the parties establishes the facts to form a judgement
differences in jurisdiction
adversarial- common law jurisdiction
inquisitorial- civil law jurisdiction
difference in case law
adversarial- previous decisions are binding to lower courts
inquisitorial- little use of judicial precedent but relies on statutes
difference in discretion (whether or not to proceed with case)
adversarial- based on what the prosecution must consider
inquisitorial- limited under legality principle
difference in lawyers
adversarial- lawyers play central role
inquisitorial- defence may confront witnesses at some point, less reliance on lawyers
what are the rights of a defendant
right to a fair trial
shall be presumes innocent until proven guilty
shall be informed promplty of accusations
differences in victim
adversarial- victim is largely a witness and the state is the prosecutor
inquisitorial- victim may have status as a party to the proceedings
difference in evidence
adversarial- responsibility for gathering evidence lies with parties
inquisitorial- evidence is collected in pre trial by independent prosecutor
difference in rules of evidence
adversarial- prejudicial or little value evidence will not be admitted
inquisitorial- rules are more lenient
differences in pre trial
adversarial- emphasis on the trial itself
inquisitorial- emphasis on pre trial
difference in trial
adversarial- requires prosecutor and defence to offer versions of events before a judge
inquisitorial- present case to trial judge and allow lawyers to present arguments in public
difference in judge
adversarial- judge is referee
inquisitorial- judge is interrogator and carries our most examinations
what are statutes
acts made by parliament
types of acts of parliament
public acts- intoduced by minister and of general applicability
private acts- specific to certain bodies
private members act- introduced by private MPs
local acts- specific to location
hybrid acts- public acts which affect private interests
