Comparative and International Criminal Justice Systems ─ Policing, Judiciary, and Corrections

Comparative and International Criminal Justice Systems: Policing, Judiciary, and Corrections, Third Edition examines the history, dynamics, structure, organization, and processes in the criminal justice systems in a number of selected countries. Designed for courses in comparative criminal justice systems, comparative criminology, and international criminal law, it explores systems in the United States, Ireland, Israel, Argentina, Sierra Leone, China, Russia, and Poland.

A descriptive and quantitative analysis of criminal justice processes, this text goes beyond a mere analysis of individual systems. Instead, the book compares these criminal justice models with each other and contrasts them with:

• United Nations conventions
• World Courts of Justice
• International Court of Justice
• International Military Tribunal
• International Criminal Tribunal
• International Criminal Court

Understanding these comparisons is crucial for a proper grasp of transnational crimes. The book shows how the national criminal justice systems and the United Nations judicial systems complement each other when adjudicating transnational crimes in the international community. It analyzes the nature of crime and criminal law, explores basic theories of crime, and discusses the various sources of international law. It also examines the inherent pitfalls in comparing international crime rates and discusses terrorism and its control. Unique to this edition is a thorough, unbiased study of the Islamic justice system.

Each chapter focuses on a select region and includes crime data and arrest, prosecution, and conviction rates where appropriate. This allows readers looking for information on the criminal justice systems of any part of the world to easily find the relevant section. A sound approach to understanding the laws of various nations, and international, criminal, and humanitarian laws, this volume provides sage insight into the sociological explanations of criminal law and crime.

Obi N. I. Ebbe, Ph.D., is a professor of criminology and sociology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He is a recognized expert in political criminology and international criminal justice systems and a member of the American Society of Criminology and the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. He has been a consultant of the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programs from 1998 to the present. Dr. Ebbe has published numerous articles in refereed journals and many books, including the first two editions of this book, Global Trafficking in Women and Children, and Criminal Abuse of Women and Children: An International Perspective.