Some General Traits of the Criminal Justice Systems of the Socialist Countries, With Special Reference to Hungary (From Papers on Crime Policy, P 1-12, 1986, by Karoly Bard, et al - See NCJ-102430)

• NCJ Number: 102431
• Author(s): K Bard
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Finland
• Note: This paper is based on a lecture delivered at the University of Helsinki in January 1984.

Annotation

This paper provides an overview of European socialist criminal justice systems, with particular attention to criminal policy and law in Hungary.

Abstract

One general trait of criminal policy in European socialist criminal justice systems is the utilitarian principle that criminal law and its administration must enhance the designed social order and reduce behaviors that threaten it. Criminal policy is thus closely linked to social policy. The majority of crimes in the European socialist countries are property crimes. In Hungary, property crimes constitute 60 percent of all crimes. Juvenile delinquency and recidivism are increasing in the socialist countries, with these trends being most noticeable in Hungary. Another general trait of socialist criminal justice systems is the effort to have laws and the criminal justice system implement society's moral values. Crime prevention is a central thrust of this goal. A common trait of the socialist criminal justice systems is citizen participation in the administration of justice through lay committees that deal with minor offenses. Socialist countries are also experiencing an expansion of the borders of criminal laws, which involves its application to behaviors not precisely proscribed by law and the use of supplementary punishments not delineated by law. These supplementary punishments are designed to increase the effectiveness of the primary punishment, which is prescribed by law. A 20-item bibliography.