NCJ Number
60211
Editor(s)
W CLIFFORD,
S D GOKHALE
Date Published
1979
Length
300 pages
Annotation
CHANGES TAKING PLACE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND CRIMINOLOGY IN ASIA, AUSTRALIA, AND THE PACIFIC ARE DOCUMENTED IN THIS COLLECTION OF SELECTED PAPERS.
Abstract
MOUNTING DISENCHANTMENT WITH THE ESTABLISHED METHODS OF DEALING WITH CRIME IS PERVADING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE CLIMATE THE WORLD OVER. ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, MOVING MORE SLOWLY THAN THE WEST, HAVE NOT YET FELT AS DEEP A SENSE OF THE CRISIS AS THE WEST. THERE IS LESS PROFOUND ARGUMENT ABOUT WHAT THE LAW SHOULD BE, AND OFFENDERS ARE LESS POLITICIZED. MOREOVER, THE AUTHORITIES STILL ENJOY A GREATER CONFIDENCE THAN IN MORE ECONOMICALLY DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. YET THE COUNTRIES OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC HAVE THEIR OWN DILEMMAS, EXPOSED TO THE DANGER OF CULTURE FLOW AND THE IMITATION OF TRENDS ELSEWHERE. COUNTRIES LIKE INDIA, THE PHILIPPINES, AND SINGAPORE HAVE TAKEN DRASTIC MEASURES TO DEAL WITH CRIME IN A BROADER CONTEXT OF NATIONAL DISCIPLINE. SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY THE ASIAN AND PACIFIC COUNTRIES ARE ROOTED IN CUSTOMS AND CULTURES RELATIVELY UNTOUCHED BY THE SUPERFICIAL OVERLAY OF MODERN LAW; YET OTHER TROUBLES ARE SHARED BY COUNTRIES EVERYWHERE. TO MEET THESE PROBLEMS, THE NEWLY INDEPENDENT NATIONS OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC HAVE NOT HESITATED TO ADAPT FOREIGN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS TO THEIR OWN NEEDS. GENERALLY SPEAKING, THESE COUNTRIES HAVE CHOSEN EVOLUTION RATHER THAN WHOLESALE REVISION, THROUGH REFORM AND READAPTATION THAT IS OCCURRING SLOWLY AND DELIBERATELY. AGAINST THIS OVERVIEW, SOCIAL WELFARE AND SOCIAL DEFENSES IS DISCUSSED FOR ASIA, AS ARE INNOVATIONS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS OF SRI LANKA, THAILAND, INDONESIA, INDIA, SINGPORE, PAKISTAN, THE PHILIPPINES, JAPAN, AND AUSTRALIA. SPECIAL REFERENCE IS GIVEN TO JAPANESE TRAFFIC LAW, TO MARTIAL LAW IN THE PHILIPPINES, AND TO VILLAGE COURTS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA. REFERENCES ARE SUPPLIED FOR EACH PAPER. FOR INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATION, SEE NCJ 60212-60224. (MHP)