: Comparative Criminal Justice Systems - Chapter 4: Six Model Nations

Vocabulary flashcards covering legal, governmental, and criminal justice terminology across the six model nations: England, France, Germany, China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.

Unitary Government

A system where government power is centralized rather than divided between states and a central government.

Federalism

A form of governance where power is divided between states and a central government.

Monarch

The sole and absolute ruler of a country, such as a king or queen.

Prime Minister (England)

The real leader of the country and head of the political party possessing a majority of seats in the House of Commons, who advises the monarch and chairs the cabinet.

Legal Pluralism

The mixing of more than one system of law within a particular country or region of a country.

Organic Laws

The laws of Parliament that describe the machinery of government.

British Crime Survey (BCS)

A survey used alongside police data by the Research and Statistics Department of the Home Office to collect crime statistics in England, regarded as the more credible measure.

Arrestable Offenses

Indictable offenses in England punished by an incarceration term, such as manslaughter, murder, and assault.

Unarrestable Offenses

"Summary" offenses in England generally tried in magistrates' courts, such as loitering, drunk and disorderly conduct, and most traffic offenses.

Lord Chancellor

An official appointed by the Prime Minister in England who appoints all judges and supervises the court system.

Home Secretary

The official in England under whose authority the police and prison system fall.

Criminal Justice and Police Act

An English act of Parliament that changed how police were trained.

Republican Government (France)

A system where the president heads the government, but main power resides in the hands of citizens who vote for representatives.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

A defining revolutionary document in France that asserted the right to resist oppression, liberty, equality, and separation of powers, and contains the basic principles of French criminal law.

Annuaire statistique de la justice

The French Directory of Justice Statistics, which showed a slight decrease in crime beginning in the 1990s.

Canon Law

A body of law dealing with church and spiritual matters, including provisions that regulate family life and morals.

Commercial Law

A body of legislation dealing with the exchange of goods between cities or nations.

Napoleonic Code

A French civil code drawn up by legal experts that went into effect in 1804, incorporating ideas from the Enlightenment.

King's Court (England)

A body of appointed judges who traveled around England ruling on disputes unresolved by local courts, laying the foundation of Common Law.

Stare Decisis

A Latin legal principle meaning "it stands decided," establishing the binding importance of legal precedent.

Judicial Independence

The principle that judges are bound by the law rather than by the desires of the ruler.

Constitutional Counsel Court

A French court that reviews legislation proposed by the legislature, Prime Minister, or government.

Council of State

The supreme administrative court in France and the leading advocate of citizens' rights.

Länder

The 16 states that comprise the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Basic Law

Germany's constitutional document containing 146 articles that describe the system of law and checks and balances.

Bundegesetz

Federal statutes within the German legal system.

Landegesetz

State laws enacted by the individual Länder in Germany.

Schwerverechen

Felonies as distinguished under the German criminal code.

Vergehen

Misdemeanors as distinguished under the German criminal code.

Cultural Revolution (China)

A historical period that represented a shift away from total acceptance of unwritten codes and informal social control mechanisms in China.

Yanda

The "Strike Hard Campaigns" implemented in China to combat crime.

Ministry of Public Security (China)

The governmental department in China under which the police component of the criminal justice system operates.

Supreme People's Court of China

The highest court in the Chinese judicial system.

Boryokudan

Organized crime syndicates in Japan, identified as the main reason for increases in crime in recent years.

Welfare State (Saudi Arabia)

A governance structure in which the government plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens.

Mintagah

The 13 administrative provinces that make up the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Shari'a

Islamic Law that forms the basis for all criminal justice functions in Saudi Arabia, administered through religious courts.

Non-constitutional Monarchy

A form of monarchy, exemplified by Saudi Arabia, that lacks a written secular constitution and elections, where the King serves as chief of state and head of government while the Qur'an serves as the constitution.