An inquisitorial system is a
legal system
The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole.
A system, surrounded and infl ...
in which the
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Sta ...

, or a part of the court, is actively involved in investigating the facts of the case. This is distinct from an
adversarial system
The adversarial system or adversary system is a legal system used in the common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by v ...
, in which the role of the court is primarily that of an impartial referee between the
prosecution
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tr ...
and the
defense
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military)
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is ty ...
. Inquisitorial systems are used primarily in countries with
civil legal systems, such as
France
France (), officially the French Republic (french: link=no, République française), is a transcontinental country
This is a list of countries located on more than one continent
A continent is one of several large landmasses ...

and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic ( it, Repubblica Italiana, links=no ), is a country consisting of a peninsula delimited by the Alps
The Alps ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps; sl, Alpe ) are the highest ...

, or legal systems based on
Islamic law
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a religious law
Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Different religious systems hold sacred law in a greater or lesser degree of importance to their beli ...
like Saudi Arabia, rather than in
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law
Case law is the collection of past legal decisions written by courts and similar tribunal
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority ...
systems. It is the prevalent legal system in
Continental Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent
A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical region ...

,
Latin America
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no
, image = Latin America (orthographic projection).svg
, area =
, population = ( est.)
, density =
, ethnic_groups =
, ethnic_groups_year = 2018
, ethnic ...

,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent
A continent is any of several large landmass
A landmass, or land mass, is a large region
In geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', ...

n countries not formerly under British rule,
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

(except
Hong Kong
Hong Kong (; , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of China on the ...

),
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia or SEA, is t ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( th, ประเทศไทย), historically known as Siam, () officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia. It is located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , wi ...

, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...

, and
Indonesia
Indonesia ( ), officially the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Republik Indonesia, links=yes ), is a country in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia or SEA, is t ...

. Most countries with an inquisitorial system also have some form of
civil code
A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property law, property, family law, family, and law of obligations, obligations.
A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions w ...
as their main source of law.
Countries using common law, including the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, may use an inquisitorial system for summary hearings in the case of
misdemeanor
A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" crime, criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punishment, punished less severely than more serious felony, felonies, but theoret ...
s or
infractions, such as minor traffic violations. The distinction between an adversarial and inquisitorial system is theoretically unrelated to the distinction between a civil legal and common-law system. Some legal scholars consider ''inquisitorial'' misleading, and prefer the word nonadversarial. The function is often vested in the office of the
public procurator, as in
China
China (), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC; ), is a country in East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia
Asia () is Earth's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the Eastern Hemisphere ...

,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally ) is an island country
An island country or an island nation is a country
A country is a distinct territory, territorial body
or political entity. It is often referred to as the land of an in ...

, and
Germany
)
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, map_width = 250px
, capital = Berlin
Berlin (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3,769,495 inh ...

.
Overview
In an inquisitorial system, the trial judges (mostly plural in serious crimes) are inquisitors who actively participate in fact-finding public inquiry by questioning defense lawyers, prosecutors, and witnesses. They could even order certain pieces of evidence to be examined if they find presentation by the defense or prosecution to be inadequate. Prior to the case getting to trial, magistrate judges (''
'' in France) participate in the investigation of a case, often assessing material by police and consulting with the prosecutor.
The inquisitorial system applies to questions of
criminal procedure
Criminal procedure is the adjudication
Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbitration, arbiter or judge reviews evidence (law), evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come ...
at trial, not
substantive law
Substantive law is the set of law
Law is a system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole.
A system, surrounded and influenced by its envir ...
; that is, it determines how criminal inquiries and trials are conducted, not the kind of crimes for which one can be prosecuted or the sentences that they carry. It is most readily used in some
civil legal systems. However, some jurists do not recognize this dichotomy, and see procedure and substantive legal relationships as being interconnected and part of a theory of
justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspectives, ...

as applied differently in various legal cultures.
In an
adversarial system
The adversarial system or adversary system is a legal system used in the common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by v ...
, judges focus on the issues of
law
Law is a system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole.
A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its bounda ...
and
procedure and act as a referee in the contest between the
defense
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military)
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is ty ...
and the
prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tr ...
.
Juries
A jury is a sworn body of people (the jurors) convened to render an impartial verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's d ...

decide matters of fact, and
sometimes matters of the law. Neither
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In th ...

nor jury can initiate an inquiry, and judges rarely ask
witness
In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, ei ...
es questions directly during
trial
In law
Law is a system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole.
A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by i ...

. In some United States jurisdictions, it is common practice for jurors to submit questions to the court that they believe were not resolved in
direct
Direct may refer to:
Mathematics
* Directed set
In mathematics
Mathematics (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ) includes the study of such topics as quantity (number theory), mathematical structure, structure (algebra), space (geometry), and calc ...
or
cross-examination
In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination (in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Africa, India and Pakistan known as examin ...
. After
testimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter.
Etymology
The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested Third-party source, thir ...
and other
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidence ...
are presented and summarized in arguments, the jury will declare a
verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal trier of fact, finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In Engla ...
(literally ''true statement'') and, in some jurisdictions, the reasoning behind the verdict. But discussions among jurors cannot be made public except in extraordinary circumstances.
Appeals on the basis of factual issues, such as sufficiency of the sum total of evidence that was properly admitted, are subject to a
standard of review
In law, the standard of review is the amount of Judicial deference, deference given by one court (or some other appellate tribunal) in reviewing a decision of a lower court or tribunal. A low standard of review means that the decision under review w ...
that is in most jurisdictions deferential to the judgment of the fact-finder at trial, be that a judge or a jury. The failure of a prosecutor to disclose evidence to the defense, for example, or a violation of the defendant's constitutional rights (
legal representation
In civil proceedings and criminal prosecutions under the common law, a defendant
A defendant is a person
A person (plural people or persons) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or ...
,
right to remain silent
Rights are legal
Law is a system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole.
A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is describe ...
,
an open and public trial) can trigger a dismissal or
re-trial. In some adversarial jurisdictions (e.g., the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

), a prosecutor cannot appeal a
"not guilty" verdict (absent corruption or gross
malfeasance
Misfeasance, nonfeasance, and malfeasance are types of failure to discharge public obligations existing by common law, custom, or statuteA statute reffers to the body of law that are made by legislature of the nation with instrument which govern ...
by the court).
In adversarial systems, the defendant may plead "
guilty
Guilty or The Guilty may refer to:
* Guilt (emotion), an experience that occurs when a person believes they have violated a moral standard
Law
*Culpability, the degree to which an agent can be held responsible for action or inaction
*Guilt (law), ...
" or "
no contest
' is a legal term that comes from the Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken in the area around Rome, known as Latium. Through ...
," in exchange for reduced sentences, a practice known as
plea bargain
A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law
In law, common law (also known ...
ing, or a plea deal, which is an extremely common practice in the United States. In theory, the defendant must allocute or "voice" his or her crimes in open court, and the judge must believe the defendant is telling the truth about his or her guilt. In an inquisitorial system, a
confession
A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
of guilt would not be regarded as ground for a guilty verdict. The prosecutor is required to provide evidence supporting a guilty verdict. But this requirement is not unique to inquisitorial systems, as many or most adversarial systems impose a similar requirement under the name ''
corpus delicti
(Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken in the area around Rome, known as Latium. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it b ...
''.
History
Until the development of the Catholic
Medieval Inquisition
The Medieval Inquisition was a series of Inquisition, Inquisitions (Catholic Church bodies charged with suppressing heresy) from around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisition (1184–1230s) and later the Papal Inquisition (1230s). The Medieval ...
in the 12th century, the legal systems used in medieval
Europe
Europe is a continent
A continent is any of several large landmass
A landmass, or land mass, is a large region
In geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a field of scienc ...

generally relied on the adversarial system to determine whether someone should be tried and whether a person was guilty or innocent. Under this system, unless people were caught in the act of committing crimes, they could not be tried until they had been formally accused by their victim, the voluntary accusations of a sufficient number of witnesses, or by an
inquest
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law
Case law is the collection of past legal decisions written by courts and similar tribunal
A tribunal, gener ...
(an early form of
grand jury
A grand jury is a jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (the jurors) convened to render an impartial
Impartiality (also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness) is a principle of justice holding that decisions should be based on objectivi ...
) convened specifically for that purpose. A weakness of this system was that, because it relied on the voluntary accusations of witnesses, and because the penalties for making a false accusation were severe, victims and would-be witnesses could be hesitant to make accusations to the court, for fear of implicating themselves. Because of the difficulties in deciding cases, procedures such as
trial by ordeal
Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience.
In Middle Ages, medieval Europe, like trial by ...
or
combat
Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violence, violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not using weapons). Combat is sometim ...
were accepted.
Beginning in 1198,
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni
Segni (, ) is an Italy, Italian town and ''comune'' located in Lazio. The city is situated on a hilltop i ...

issued a series of decretals that reformed the ecclesiastical court system. Under the new (inquisitional procedure), an ecclesiastical magistrate no longer required a formal accusation to summon and try a defendant. Instead, an
ecclesiastical court
An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized commu ...
could summon and interrogate witnesses of its own initiative. If the (possibly secret) testimony of those witnesses accused a person of a crime, that person could be summoned and tried. In 1215, the
Fourth Council of the Lateran
The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the Council's convocation and meeting, many bi ...
affirmed the use of the inquisitional system. The council forbade clergy from conducting trials by ordeal or combat.
As a result, in parts of continental Europe, the ecclesiastical courts operating under the inquisitional procedure became the dominant method by which disputes were adjudicated. In France, the — lay courts — also employed inquisitorial proceedings.
In England, however, King
Henry II
Henry II may refer to:
Kings
*Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154
*Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1324), reigned from 1285; king of Jerusalem in name only from 1291
*Henry II of Castile (1334–79), reigned 1366–67 and ...

had established separate secular courts during the 1160s. While the ecclesiastical courts of England, like those on the continent, adopted the inquisitional system, the secular
common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law
Case law is the collection of past legal decisions written by courts and similar tribunal
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority ...
courts continued to operate under the adversarial system. The adversarial principle that a person could not be tried until formally accused continued to apply for most criminal cases. In 1215 this principle became enshrined as article 38 of the
Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a Royal charter, royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor, on ...

: "No bailiff for the future shall, upon his own unsupported complaint, put anyone to his law, without credible witnesses brought for this purposes."
The first territory to wholly adopt the inquisitional system was the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire ( la, Sacrum Romanum Imperium; german: Heiliges Römisches Reich) was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town i ...
. The new
German legal process was introduced as part of the of 1498 and then the of 1507. The adoption of the ( of
Charles VCharles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, german: Karl V, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and offici ...

) in 1532 made inquisitional procedures empirical law. It was not until
Napoleon
Napoléon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader. He rose to prominence during the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) refers to the period that began with the Estates General o ...

introduced the (French code of criminal procedure) on November 16, 1808, that the classical procedures of inquisition were ended in all German territories.
In the development of modern legal institutions that took place in the 19th century, for the most part jurisdictions codified their
private law
Private law is that part of a civil law
Civil law may refer to:
* Civil law (common law)
Civil law is a major branch of the law.Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1982. p. 2. In common law legal systems such as ...
and
criminal law
Criminal law is the body of law
Law is a system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole.
A system, surrounded and influenced by its env ...
, and reviewed and
codified the rules of
civil procedure
Civil procedure is the body of law
Law is a system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole.
A system, surrounded and influenced by its e ...
as well. It was through this development that the role of an inquisitorial system became enshrined in most European civilian legal systems. However, there exist significant differences of operating methods and procedures between 18th century courts and 19th-century courts. In particular, limits on the powers of investigators were typically added, as well as increased rights of the defense.
It is too much of a generalization to say that the civil law is purely inquisitorial and the common law adversarial. The ancient
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Laz ...
custom
Custom may refer to:
Sense: Customary
* Convention (norm)
A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated, or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms, or criteria, often taking the form of a custom.
In a social context, a convention ma ...
of
arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that act as a means for disag ...
has now been adapted in many common-law jurisdictions to a more inquisitorial form. In some mixed civil law systems, such as those in
Scotland
Scotland ( sco, Scotland, gd, Alba
Alba (Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig or Scots Gaelic, sometimes referred to simply as Gaelic) is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic languages, Celtic branch of the Indo-European ...
,
Quebec
)
, image_shield=Armoiries du Québec.svg
, image_flag=Flag of Quebec.svg
, coordinates=
, AdmittanceDate=July 1, 1867
, AdmittanceOrder=1st, with New Brunswick
("Hope restored")
, image_map = New Brunswick in Canada 2.svg
, ...
, and
Louisiana
Louisiana (Standard French
Standard French (in French: ''le français standard'', ''le français normé'', ''le français neutre'' eutral Frenchor ''le français international'' nternational French is an unofficial term for a standard ...
, while the substantive law is civil in nature and evolution, the procedural codes that have developed over the last few hundred years are based upon the English adversarial system.
Modern usage
France
The main feature of the inquisitorial system in
criminal justice
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields ...
in France, and other countries functioning along the same lines, is the function of the examining or investigating judge (''juge d'instruction''), also called a magistrate judge. The examining judge conducts investigations into serious crimes or complex inquiries. As a member of the
judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government
A government i ...
, he or she is independent and outside the province of the executive branch, and therefore separate from the Office of Public Prosecutions, which is supervised by the
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
.
Despite high media attention and frequent portrayals in TV series, examining judges are active in a small minority of cases. In 2005, there were 1.1 million criminal rulings in France, while only 33,000 new cases were investigated by judges.
Les chiffres-clés de la Justice
', French Ministry of Justice, October 2006 The vast majority of cases are therefore investigated directly by law enforcement agencies (
police
The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...
,
gendarmerie
Wrong info! -->
A vedette of the French ''Gendarmerie Maritime'' in La Rochelle harbour
A gendarmerie () is a military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily ...
) under the supervision of the Office of Public Prosecutions (''procureurs'').
Examining judges are used for serious crimes, e.g.,
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person w ...

and
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent
Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. ...

, and for crimes involving complexity, such as
embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of withholding asset
In financial accounting
Financial accounting is the field of accounting
Accounting or Accountancy is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial informa ...
, misuse of public funds, and
corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty
Dishonesty is to act without honesty
''Diogenes Searching for an Honest Man'', attributed to J. H. W. Tischbein ()
Honesty or truthfulness is a facet
Facets () are flat faces on geometric shapes. The org ...
. The case may be brought before the examining judge either by the public prosecutor (''procureur'') or, more rarely, by the victim (who may compel an ''instruction'' even if the public prosecutor rules the charges to be insufficient).
The judge questions witnesses, interrogates suspects, and orders
search
Searching or search may refer to:
Computing technology
* Search algorithm
In computer science, a search algorithm is an algorithm (typically involving a multitude of other, more specific algorithms ) which solves a search problem. Search al ...
es for other investigations. Their role is not to prosecute the accused, but to gather facts, and as such their duty is to look for any and all
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidence ...
, whether incriminating or exculpatory (''à charge et à décharge''). Both the
prosecution
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tr ...
and the
defense
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military)
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is ...
may request the judge to act, and may appeal the judge's decisions before an appellate court. The scope of the inquiry is limited by the mandate given by the prosecutor's office: the examining judge cannot open a criminal investigation ''
sua sponte
In law
Law is a system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole.
A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its b ...
.''
In the past the examining judge could order committal of the accused, this power being subject to appeal. However, this is no longer authorized, and other judges have to approve a committal order.
If the examining judge decides there is a valid case against a suspect, the accused is sent for adversarial trial by jury. The examining judge does not sit on the trial court which tries the case and is prohibited from sitting for future cases involving the same defendant. The case is tried before the court in a manner similar to that of adversarial courts: the prosecution (and on occasion a plaintiff) seeks the conviction of accused criminals, the defense attempts to rebut the prosecution claims, and the
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In th ...

and
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (the jurors) convened to render an impartial
Impartiality (also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness) is a principle of justice holding that decisions should be based on objectivity (philosophy), objective ...

draw their conclusions from the evidence presented at trial.
As a result of judicial investigation and defendants being able to have judicial proceedings dismissed on procedural grounds during the examining phase, cases where the evidence is weak tend not to reach the trial stage. Conversely, the guilty
plea
In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law
Case law is the collection of past legal decisions ...

and
plea bargain
A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law
In law, common law (also known ...
ing were until recently unknown to French law. They are accepted only for crimes for which the prosecution seeks a sentence not exceeding one year imprisonment. Therefore, most cases go to trial, including cases where the prosecution is almost sure to gain a conviction. In countries such as the United States, the latter cases would be settled by plea bargain.
Other types
Administrative justice
In
administrative court
An administrative court is a type of court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state
State may refer to:
Art ...
s, such as the
Council of State
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-sha ...
, litigation proceedings are markedly more inquisitorial. Most of the procedure is conducted in writing; the plaintiff writes to the court, which asks explanations from the administration or public service concerned; when answered, the court may then ask further detail from the plaintiff, etc. When the case is sufficiently complete, the lawsuit opens in court; however, the parties are not required to attend the court appearance. This method reflects the fact that administrative lawsuits are for the most part about matters of formal procedure and technicalities.
Inquisitorial tribunals within the United States
Certain administrative proceedings within some common-law jurisdictions in the United States may be similar to their civil law counterparts but are conducted on a more inquisitorial model. For instance tribunals dealing with minor traffic violations at the
New York City Traffic Violations Bureau are held before an adjudicator, who also functions as a prosecutor. They question witnesses before rendering judgements and setting fines.
These types of tribunals or boards function as an expedited form of justice, in which the state agents conduct an initial investigation and the adjudicator's job is to confirm these preliminary findings through a simplified form of procedure that grants some basic amount of
due process
Due process is the legal requirement that the state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* The State (newspaper), ''The State'' (newspa ...
or
fundamental justice
In Canadian and New Zealand law, fundamental justice is the fairness underlying the administration of justice and its operation. The principles of fundamental justice are specific legal principles that command "significant societal consensus" as ...
. The accused party has an opportunity to place his or her objections on the record.
References
Bibliography
*
Antonia Fiori, "''Quasi denunciante fama'' : note sull’introduzione del processo tra rito accusatorio e inquisitorio", in ''Der Einfluss der Kanonistik auf die europäische Rechtskultur'', 3. ''Strafrecht und Strafprozeß'', éd. O. Condorelli, Fr. Roumy, M. Schmoeckel, Cologne, Weimar, Vienne, 2012, p. 351-367, online
* Richard M. Fraher, « IV Lateran's Revolution in Criminal Procédure : the Birth of ''inquisitio'', the End of Ordeals and Innocent III's Vision of Ecclesiastical Politics », dans ''Studia in honorem eminentissimi cardinalis Alphonsi M. Stickler'', éd. Rosalius Josephus Castillo Lara, Rome, Librairie Ateneo Salesiano (Pontificia studiorum universitas salesiana, Facilitas juris canonici, Studia et textus historie juris canonici, 7), 1992, p. 97-111.
* Lotte Kéry, « ''Inquisitio-denunciatio-exceptio'' : Möglichkeiten der Verfahrenseinleitung im Dekretalenrecht », ''Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Kanonistische Abteilung'', 87, 2001, p. 226-268.
*
Julien Théry, « ''fama'' : L’opinion publique comme preuve. Aperçu sur la révolution médiévale de l'inquisitoire (XIIe-XIVe s.) », in ''La preuve en justice de l'Antiquité à nos jours'', ed. Br. Lemesle, Rennes, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2003, p. 119-147, online
Julien Théry-Astruc, "Judicial Inquiry as an Instrument of Centralized Government : The Papacy’s Criminal Proceedings against Prelates in the Age of Theocracy (mid-12th to mid-14th century)", in "Proceedings of the 14th International Congress of Medieval Canon Law", Città del Vaticano, 2016, p. 875-889, online
* Winfried Trusen, « Der Inquisitionsprozess : seine historischen Grundlagen und frühen Formen », ''Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, ''Kanonistische Abteilung'', 74, 1988, p. 171-215.
Further reading
* French Code of Penal Procedure (''Code de procédure pénale'')
*
legislative part*
regulatory section— regulations taken after advice of the ''
Conseil d'État''
American Law Encyclopedia: Inquisitorial System
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inquisitorial System
Judiciaries
Legal history
Legal systems
Tribunals of the Catholic Church