Criminal Procedure Law of the United Kingdom

Author: Compiled by the Criminal Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-01
Features: Only by comparing things can we see their differences and strengths; only by learning from others can we promote development and progress. This is also true for the construction of the legal system. The development of China's legal system, including the reform and improvement of its criminal procedure law system, must be grounded in China's national conditions, continuously summing up its own experience, while also studying the situation of legal system development in foreign countries, learning from their experiences, and achieving the effect of "using the stone of others to polish one's own jade." In the impression of Chinese legal professionals, the United Kingdom is a traditional common law country, where case law has always been its primary source of law. In reality, this situation is changing. In recent decades, the British Parliament has enacted a large number of statutes, covering all aspects of state activities and social life, making statutes an increasingly important source of law. In the field of criminal procedure, the United Kingdom is also achieving major reforms in its criminal procedure system through the enactment of statutes, or to say, all major changes in the British criminal procedure system in recent years are closely related to statutes. For this reason, the Criminal Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, under my leadership, has decided to organize the translation of some important and representative statutes, compiling them into a book titled "Selected Statutes on Criminal Procedure in the United Kingdom." This systematic translation and introduction of important criminal procedure laws in the United Kingdom is a first in China. The United Kingdom is the birthplace of common law and also the birthplace of a series of important common law systems and rights. Starting from the 12th century, the United Kingdom was the first to implement the grand jury system. In the 13th century, it also adopted the trial jury system. During the period of the bourgeois revolution, the grand jury system and trial jury system in the United Kingdom were successively introduced into countries such as the United States, France, and Germany, profoundly influencing the formation and development of modern jury systems. To this day, the United Kingdom has abolished the grand jury system, while the trial jury system, although it has undergone some changes, remains in normal operation. The United Kingdom is the homeland of the right to silence.