CRLJ 121

INTRODUCTION TO
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SYSTEM
PRELIM MODULE 2

INTRODUCTION

Justice is a concept of moral rightness based ethics, rationality, law,

natural law, religion, equity and fairness, as well as the administration of
the law, taking into account the inalienable and inborn rights of all human
beings and citizens, the right of all people and individuals to equal
protection before the law of their civil rights, without discrimination on the
basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin,
color, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, wealth, or other characteristics,
and is further regarded as being inclusive of social justice.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the unit, the students should be able to:

a. Explain the concept of justice.

b. Identify the two approaches and models of Criminal Justice.

REFERENCES

 Shirley Domingo, Criminal Justice System, Rex Book Store, Inc., 2013
 Porferio C. Madelo Jr., Ph. D., Criminal Justice System-Basic Concepts and
Approaches, Rex Book Store, Inc., 2013
 Atty. Ramil G. Gabao, Ph. D., Philippine Criminal Justice System, Chapter House
Publishing Inc., 2013

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 LEARNING LESSONS

LESSON 1 THE CONCEPTS OF JUSTICE

What is justice?

- Mortimer J. Adler, as cited by Professor Florante A. Seril, has indicated the

essence of justice in two precepts: The first is "to render to each his due.
For instance if one borrows money promising to pay it back, it is only just for
the borrower to pay back the said debt. It is rendering to him what is due. To
refuse to pay it back is unjust since it amounts to keeping what belongs to
another.
- The second is ‘’treat equals equally and unequal unequally in proportion to
their inequality.’’ For example, if all members of a class in school did not do
their assignment, all should receive the same grade, otherwise there will be
injustice. Justice involves equal punishment for identical offenses and equal
rewards to identical merits.

- Justice is the act of rendering what are due and treating persons equally.

Due process- A guarantee that a person has the right to the fair application of the law
before they can be imprisoned, executed, or have their property seized. This concept is
responsible for all the procedures that guarantee a fair trial no matter who you are.

Kinds of Due Process

a. Procedural due process – is one which hears before it condemns which proceeds
upon inquiry and renders judgment only after trial.
o Is the process fair?

b. Substantive Due Process – this requires the intrinsic validity of the law in
interfering with the rights of the person to his life, liberty or property.
o Does the government have the right to bring the action in the first place?

When societies attempt to administer justice, mistakes are inevitable. The types of
mistakes include the following:
1. The innocent is punished.
2. The guilty escapes the punishment.
3. The guilty are punished more severely than necessary.
4. The guilty are punished less severely than necessary.

The Justice system tends to possess a two-fold role:

1. The prevention of certain activity that is harmful to society

2. The apprehension and the formal processing of individuals who have
committed illegal acts.

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What are the five pillars of the Criminal justice system in the Philippines?

1. Law Enforcement
2. Prosecution
3. Courts
4. Corrections
5. Community

The following are the major components of the American Criminal Justice System:

1. Law Enforcement
2. Courts
3. Corrections

Philosophical Approaches behind the Criminal Justice system

1. The Adversarial Approach

- The adversarial approach assumes innocence. The prosecutor representing
the state must prove the guilt of the accused. The adversary approach
requires that the proper procedures are followed- procedures designed to
protect the rights of the accused.
- The adversary system embodies the basic concept of equal protection and
due process. These concepts are necessary in order to create a system in
which the accused has a fair chance against the tremendous powers of the
prosecutor and the resources of the State.
- Theoretically, the observance of due process will prevent the prosecutor
from obtaining a guilty verdict for an innocent defendant. In reality, however,
justice does not always prevail.

2. The Inquisitorial Approach.

- The inquisitorial system assumes guilt; the accused must prove that they are
innocent. This is the opposite of the Adversarial Approach. The inquisitorial
approach places a greater emphasis on conviction rather than on the
process by which the conviction is secured.

Distinguish the above philosophical approaches of the Criminal Justice System.

(a)As to the presumption:

- The Adversarial Approach assumes the accused to be innocent; while the

Inquisitorial Approach assumes the accused to be guilty.

(b) As to the burden of proof:

- The Adversarial Approach places the burden on the public prosecutor to prove the
guilt of the accused; while the Inquisitorial Approach places the burden to the
accused in proving his innocence.

(c) As to the emphasis:

- The Adversarial Approach places emphasis on the process; while the Inquisitorial
Approach places emphasis on the conviction of the accused.

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What is the philosophical approach adopted by our Criminal Justice System?

- Our Criminal Justice System adopts the Adversarial Approach.

- This is obvious due to the greater emphasis on the observance of due
process and of the litany of rights in our Constitution's Bill of Rights.

LESSON 2 CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM MODELS

What are the two most popular models of Criminal Justice System?

1. The Concept of Crime Control Model

- based on the idea that the most important function of the CJS is the repression
of criminal conduct.

- justified by pointing out that the failure of the police and other agencies of the
criminal justice to bring the criminal conduct under control leads to the
breakdown of the public order, and, as a result, the disappearance of social
tranquility, which is an important condition of human freedom.

- In this model, the administration of criminal justice must stress "efficiency"-

increased capacity to apprehend, Try, convict and dispose of a high proportion of
criminal offenders.

- In this model, procedural issues such as the rights of the accused, which some
people blame as the culprit that allows offenders to escape justice, must be
secondary to protect society and control crime. The supporters of this model
contend that the collective rights of the society must take precedence over the
rights of the individual; where there is conflict over this issue; collective public
safety, immediate protection of the society and general maintenance of public
order is the primary consideration.

- The crime control model promotes punishment. Deterrence serves the

philosophic underpinnings of this model.

2. The Concept of Due Process Model.

- The primary consideration of the due process model is to protect the rights
of the accused, the individual freedoms and the general consideration of
liberty, the basic right of an individual. However, this results to the delay in
the administration of justice.
- The saying that justice delayed is justice denied is often heard and hurled
as a criticism against this model. This model presumes that people are
considered basically good. As such, individuals are presumed innocent
until proven guilty.
- Its primary concern is the rehabilitation and integration of offenders back
into society, and more particularly in assisting law violators to make a
deliberate conversion to a more responsible lifestyle.

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