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…
All nations have an executive branch entity responsible for the administration of justice.
JurisdictionThe jurisdiction of a justice ministry may be expansive, often encompassing prosecutorial authority and extending to the judiciary, law enforcement, corrections, and…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…