We Would love to learn, Free sharing the lesson that we had done at our University of South East- Asia, Seim Reap, Cambodia.

1. COURSE: GLOBAL STUDIES II
YEAR: 2015
University of South East- Asia
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2. Chapter 3 Social Behaviour
UNIT 3 THE SYSTEM OF
JUSTICE
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3. The system of justice
The system of justice that we are going
to examine is the prevailing system in
England and Wales, both regions in
the United Kingdom.
There are things that make them
different from the usual justice system
in the U.S.
What makes them different is the
apparent traditional style that they
incorporate in the proceedings related
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4. Civil cases and Criminal
cases
Civil cases are those concerned with
issues between individuals like:
 dispute over land
 disagreement about existing
documents
 labor problems
 marital battles, etc.
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5. Civil cases and Criminal
cases
Criminal cases are those more serious
cases such as:
 theft
 murder
 arson
 kidnapping
 rape, etc.
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6. Two kinds of court
There are two kinds of court existing:
1. Magistrates’ court
2. Higher court (crown court)
Court of Criminal Appeal
House of Lords (the highest court)
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7. Magistrates’ court
 more than 90% of all cases are dealt
with in magistrates’ courts
 every town has one
 a panel of magistrates passes judgment
(usually three magistrates for each court)
 if they decide that someone is guilty of a
crime, they can also impose a
punishment
 can be imprisonment for a year or a fine
 if it’s first offence and not serious, there
may not be any punishments at all
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8.  the person can be unconditionally
discharged
 the next higher step to this is the
conditional discharge
 it can be on probation
 it can be a fine
 it can be community service
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9. The magistrates
 The magistrates are also known as
Justices of the Peace (JPs)
 they are not trained lawyers
 they are ordinary people with good
reputation
 they have been appointed to be JPs
by a local committee
 they do not get a salary or a fee for
their work
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10. The magistrates
 they tend to come from the wealthier
sections of society
 there are times when their prejudice
is obvious:
they are especially harsh on people
found guilty of poaching (hunting
animals on private lands)
 nowadays, magistrates are chosen
from a broad section of society
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11. Prima facie
Criminal cases can initially be heard in
magistrates’ court just to make sure
that there’s a possibility that the
accused may be guilty of a crime
If there’s a possibility that the accused
may be guilty, it is called a prima facie
case
It will then be brought to a higher court
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12. Higher court
The higher court would be a crown
court
CROWN COURT:
 a professional lawyer acts as a judge
 a jury to determine the guilt or
innocence of the accused
JURY
 composed of twelve people randomly
selected from a list of voters
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13. Higher court
 juries are not paid and are obliged to
perform this duty
 the verdict must have at least 10
votes of either guilty or innocent to be
deemed legal
 if less than ten, it is a mistrial and
must be heard all over again with a
new set of juries
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14. Appeal
 a convicted person may appeal to the
Court of Criminal Appeal (Appeal
Court) in London for
1. the verdict to be quashed
2. the sentence to be reduced
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15. The Judge
 the judge’s duty is to be the “referee”
during the trial
 it is the judge’s duty to impose
punishment ( “pronouncing sentence”)
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16. Two kinds of lawyer– Solicitor
and Barrister
 Solicitor
they handle most legal matters for
their clients
they draw up documents (wills,
divorce papers, contracts, etc.)
they communicate with other parties
they present their cases in
magistrates’ courts
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17. Two kinds of lawyer– Solicitor
and Barrister
 Barrister
they present the cases in higher
courts
they present the cases not usually
given as a duty for the solicitors (until
1994)
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18. Training
The two kinds of lawyer have different
trainings:
SOLICITORS:
 have to pass the Law Society exam
 they study for this exam while
“articled” to established firms of
solicitors where they do everyday
junior works
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19. Training
BARRISTERS:
 have to attend one of the four Inns of
Court in London
 attendance requirement:
eat dinner there on a certain number
of evenings each term
 sit exams after four years
 if they pass, they are “called to the
bar” and are recognized as barristers
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20. Training
BARRISTERS (cont’d.)
 They can only present a case in a
crown court after several years of
association with a senior barrister
(apprenticeship)
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21. Similarities
 both of them don’t need a university
qualification
 though they go to university, they do
not necessarily study law there
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22. Further comparison
Solicitors Barristers
 Have to deal with the
realities of the everyday
world
 most of the work is done
away from the courts
 they become experts in
the details of particular
areas of the law
 they tend to come from the
wealthier level of society
 they are experts on general
principles of the law, but not
on details
 eloquence in public speaking
 have to wear a gown and a
wig to emphasize the
impersonal majesty of the law
 later retiring age, higher
salary
 sometimes criticized for their
outdated judgments and
opinions
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23. BARRISTERS’ WIG AND
GOWN
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24. Some commonly used legal
terms
Refer to pp. 65 and 67 for definition:
 Acquitted
 Bail
 Barrister
 Brief
 Civil action
 Convicted
 Common law
 Committal proceedings
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25. Some commonly used legal
terms
 Defendant
 Judge
 Jury
 Magistrate
 On remand
 Party
 Plaintiff
 Precedent
 Prosecutor
 Solicitor
 Trial
 verdict
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