The history of the criminal justice system in Ukraine and the United States
The judicial system in Ukraine is unified. The criminal justice system in the country is based on the adversary and inquisitional justice principles. An inquisitional scheme is often followed by a preliminary investigation which dominates any criminal case that is on trial. The law on judiciary, the code of criminal procedure, and the criminal code are the ones in practice since 1993. The criminal justice system became effective in Ukraine after the October revolution in 1917, which forced the soviet administration to make a decree for the abolishment of the old judicial and were replaced with new local courts which were mandated by the Soviet government to make decisions on criminal cases due to the revolutionary legal consciousness. Other institutions that were created during that time to aid the new courts in the administration of judicial services included the federal and district attorneys, court investigators, and the public and private attorneys.
In the event of criminal investigations, there was the creation of a three-member investigatory committee. However, these committees were elected or appointed by the soviets judicial reforms that took place in the 1920s in Ukraine and other Soviet republics. The public defenders’ board and the soviet procurators were created as a result, which enabled the adoption of the code of criminal procedures and the criminal code. After the formation and unification of soviet republics to form the USSR in 1924, Ukraine criminal justice was incorporated into the criminal justice statutes of the USSR. In the 1930s, the Unitarianist ideas superseded the republican sovereignty concept. After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine was declared independent by the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine. In that regard, the criminal justice system in Ukraine depended entirely on the statutes made by Ukrainians and neither the Soviets or Russians.
The history of the criminal justice system in the United States
The modern criminal justice system in the United States has been as a result of many decades of evolutional changes. In comparison with that of Ukraine, American criminal justice has evolved for an extended time, and numerous amends have been made as a result, since the inception of America to a sovereign state. Over the years mechanisms of punishing offenders in the American society have evolved. However capital punishment for capital felonies has been a subject of heated debates of whether it should totally be abolished or not. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
In the colonial criminal justice was based on religious grounds. Offences such as blasphemy, profanity and sacrileges of the Sabbath attracted huge punishment and penalty. Criminal codes during that era were defined by biblical terms. Humiliating punishments such as stoning, dunking, and whipping were designed to make the offender repent their sins. Due to the expansion of the American society the use of religion as a guide for criminal justice was neglected and became less frequent as people demanded a well-structured criminal judicial system. The early forms of policing in America were communal and informal. There were no professional law enforcers but volunteers from the community who took the task of ensuring justice was served. Criminal investigations were poorly done and it was upon the judge to decide whether a person was an offender and deliver punishment or set them free. This system was full of fraud and many people were punished for crimes not committed.
How the Ukrainian criminal justice system works
The criminal justice system in Ukraine first classifies crime. Serious crimes receive long term jail sentencing while petty offenders spend from a few weeks to a few months in jail. The age of the offender is a key factor that is being considered in Ukraine to determine the punitive actions to issue to an offender. The age of criminal responsibility in Ukraine is 16 unlike other countries in Europe which go for 18 years. However under the Clause 10 of criminal serious crimes such as murder, rape, robbery and assault, a person as young as 14 can be held responsible and serve a jail term.
The victim is given a role in the prosecution and sentencing of an offender. The legal rights of the victim as stipulated by the constitution in the criminal justice clauses is the right to testify, identify an offender and present evidence related to the offence. The police are also an important component of the criminal judicial system, and are mandated to provide security and combat crime. The evidence provided by the police on investigating a crime incidence is instrumental for the judicial system to make judgments. The accused have rights to plead their innocence. The system makes rulings on the credibility of the evidence presented before them. If the evidence convinces the judges that an offence had been committed then the offender is sentenced. When the evidence presented is lacking on key components then more time can be provided for investigations to continue or the court might decide to set the offender free. The accused also has the rights to appeal a ruling and seek more time for investigations if they feel the punishment given to them is not equivalent to the offence they had committed.
Recent reforms
Ukraine needs to make reforms and amendments of the criminal justice laws which are of the soviet era. This is because they have been overtaken by time and cannot address the current needs of people. The soviet judicial system that Ukraine practiced was in favor of the leaders and those in authority. It failed to address the needs of the people. The major reforms that have happened in recent times include; formation of truly independent systems of courts that would operate as autonomous bodies. The judges were given new levels of accountability and responsibilities to make judgments based on evidence and not external interference. The president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has been heavily criticized for this reform by local advisers. However the international community see this as the avenue for bringing transparency and honesty in a judicial system that had been accused of numerous incidences of corruption which hindered delivery of justice to the people.
The country also has a plan to restructure the entire judicial system by 2020. Some of the reforms that will take place include; bring legislation to the standards of the European union, reforming all the existing justice systems and vetting judges so that those who remain will be trusted by the public that they will make judgments based on justice and they will not twist the law to favor some individuals in the society and establishment of a new Supreme Court. In 2019 there was complete renewal of the cassation link which brought unity for practice of justice. This led to appointment of new judges that had not been affected by the former corrupt judicial system.
Criminal justice practices in Ukraine which can be beneficial to the criminal justice system in the United States.
In Ukraine the criminal justice system allows dropping of cases and offering other punitive actions rather than opting for a trial. There are cases which when presented in court makes things even worse. People with a huge following in the country or those commanding groups of people their cases are better solved without having a trial. Political figures at times when aligned in court lead to eruption of countrywide chaos which can destabilize the nation and hinder normal running of economic activities and even lead to eruption of violence. When influential individuals are apprehended for committing felonies, the judicial system determines which approach to administer justice without leading to uproars from the public.
The united states had had to suffer the effects of apprehending individuals such as leaders of criminal gangs and activists which eventually lead to bloody confrontation with the law enforcers. At times when criminals are apprehended and the media covers their trail, it acts as a motivation to other people intending to join crime. First the criminal gets the publicity and recognition that they always seek thus making their followers more enthuastic in committing crime. At times taking things slow and using means that are more relaxed could work best for the American criminal justice system. United states should also be willing to drop cases after making the offenders pay fines for their crimes and let them go back to the society. At times in some situations use of a lot of authority works in favor of the offender rather than the government. Some prosecutions can lead to adverse effects as people with a close connection with the accused decide to engage the law enforcers in reaction to the actions of the government.
Ways in which the American criminal judicial system is better to that of Ukraine
The American criminal justice system provides alternatives for petty offenders who are underage, by introducing them to alternative programs instead of taking them to maximum prisons unlike in Ukraine. Shock incarceration programs are also referred to as boot camps. They are correctional programs which assume basic military training; these facilities emphasize more on physical activities and drills. Shock incarceration programs target young offenders who are not of legal age to be taken to maximum correctional facilities, and they should have committed minimal crimes. Shock incarceration programs are meant to keep an offender for a short period, usually 90 to 180 days and not more than that, after which they are released back to the society where they can have a normal life like any other citizen of the United States. However, those who had committed serious crimes or showed a slow rate to reforming have to be put under supervision upon release as the law does not allow keeping offenders for extended periods in the Shock incarceration programs. Inmates are taught ways of being responsible and how to improve their lives. Punctuality is cultivated by the training they receive of waking up before dawn. Decent dressing within a limited time is also taught, conducting their affairs with minimal disruptions is manifested in marching to their dining facility and taking their meals with minimal conversation. Such programs help young offenders to refrain from criminal activities. Ukraine can introduce such programs to their criminal justice system that would make young offenders and with petty crimes get taught on ways to avoid crime in the future.
Improvements needed on the American criminal justice system
The American criminal justice system and laws were made on the basis of discrimination and oppression of minority groups. According to racial demographics released in 2016, the African Americans are only 14 percent of the total population in the united states. However 33 percent of the population in prison is made of black Americans. Caucasians are 62 percent of the population but only 30 percent are in prison. Hispanics were 16 percent but their population in prisons was above 23 percent.
From the statistics it is evident that the law was lenient in sending Caucasians to prison but did not hesitate in sentencing the black Americans and the Hispanics. Such findings can result to crisis among the people and lead to disintegration of the American society as some groups start feeling that the law was harsh on them unlike to others. As a result the American criminal justice should be reformed so that every group will feel that they stand a chance of getting justice. Everyone should receive punishment equivalent to the crimes that they have committed and not be punished severely since they are from the minority group. The American justice should not favor any group since by doing so they tarnish their image and the reputation that they have built and kept for an extended period. Clauses in the constitution that are discriminative should be scrapped off since they can be used to oppress the minority.
Aspects of the U.S criminal justice system which are good and those that are worse
The criminal justice system in the United States largely depends on the evidence presented to the judges. If the evidence is strong enough to convince the court that the accused needs to serve a jail term then they will be locked behind bars. But when the evidence is not sufficient then the accused might stay in custody a bit longer to allow time for further investigations and when the evidence presented again is not convincing then the accused is set free and charges dropped. The worst thing of the system is that it has been leading to a high rate of recidivism. Offenders after serving their term easily commit more crimes which make them to be apprehended after a short period and taken back to prison. The suitability of the set measures to rehabilitate offenders has greatly been criticized since they seem to be doing little to change the offenders and turn them to responsible people who can reintegrate well with the society. The rate of recidivism should be a great concern to the criminal judicial system prompting devising new measures that will make offenders better people in the society upon their release.