In this module we will compare some of the broad models of criminal justice in existence, in an effort to better locate Canadian criminal justice within them. Roughly, criminal justice systems can be classified along (i) an authoritarian/liberal axis, (ii) a punitive/restorative axis, and (iii) a more cultural axis, notably distinguishing the common law and the continental tradition. These models are paradigms that rarely exist in pure form. In fact, what is interesting is the thesis that they are converging and hybridizing, a complex phenomenon that is not entirely understood but particularly visible before international criminal tribunals.
Optional reading:
Deflem, Mathieu, and Amanda Swygart. “Comparative Criminal Justice.” In Handbook of Criminal Justice Administration, edited by M. A. DuPont-Morales, Michael K. Hooper, and Judy H. Schmidt. CRC Press, 2000.