Judiciaries WorldwideA Resource on Comparative Judicial Practice  */
image of scales of justice one with healthy tree winning and one with unhealthy tree losing
The Americas While Latin America has a robust tradition of public criminal defense, only a few countries in Latin America and the Caribbean offer legal services for indigent civil litigants. These countries have invested in paralegal training, legal aid programs, and…
Legal traditions banner
Nations follow different legal traditions and have adopted theories of jurisprudence and approaches to adjudication that best suit their culture and needs. Many countries also have specialized justice mechanisms to address discrete needs, for example military justice and transitional justice…
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Countries use a variety of terms to describe components of a judicial system, the litigation process, and what judges do. Vocabulary matters a great deal in the transnational context.
Restorative Justice Banner
Restorative justice offers an alternative to the traditional criminal justice paradigm: rather than focusing on punishment and retribution, it elevates the victim’s needs. There is no single model of restorative justice. What Does Restorative Justice Look Like?The…
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The right to counsel in criminal cases is fundamental to a fair trial. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the first instrument of international law to set forth this right; it was later affirmed in multiple international conventions and national constitutions. In 2012, the United Nations…
Rule of Law Banner
Rule of law is a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and   Judiciaries around the world participate in a broad…
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There are four principle sentencing models used by criminal justice systems around the world, with some adopting a combined approach. This page examines the sentencing practices of eight countries, including procedure, the role of victims, sentence types, whether mandatory minimums are used, and…
Special Courts Banner
Many countries have specialized courts that operate alongside courts of general jurisdiction. These courts are created to meet the needs of specific constituencies (juvenile courts, tribal courts, community courts) or to address unique jurisdictional issues (tax courts, probate courts). Specialized…