Inquisitorial System
Definition
A model of legal proceedings, common in civil-law countries such as France and Germany, in which the court takes an active role in investigating facts. The forensic expert often serves as a court-appointed neutral rather than as a witness retained by one side, contrasting with the adversarial model used in common-law countries.
Related terms
- Adversarial System
- A legal model in which two opposing parties (prosecution and defence, or claimant and defendant) present competing cases to a neutral decision-maker....
- Burden of Proof
- The obligation to prove a fact or claim. In criminal law the prosecution typically bears the burden; in civil law the claimant...
- Admissibility
- Whether a piece of evidence is permitted to be placed before the fact-finder at all. Admissibility is a threshold question, decided by...
- Beyond Reasonable Doubt
- The criminal standard of proof in adversarial jurisdictions including England and Wales, the United States, and India. The factfinder must be sure...
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 (BSA)
- India's current evidence statute, which replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872. Section 63 of the BSA governs electronic records and requires a...
- Binding Precedent
- A decision of a superior court that a lower court in the same hierarchy must follow when deciding a case with materially...
- Chain of Custody
- The documented chronological record of who collected, handled, transferred, and examined a piece of evidence. For digital evidence, chain of custody includes...
- Daubert Standard
- The US federal evidentiary standard (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, 1993) requiring that expert testimony be based on scientifically valid methods with...
- Delegated Legislation
- Rules, regulations, notifications, and statutory instruments made by an executive body under authority granted by a parent statute. Forensic laboratory accreditation standards...
- Duty to the Court
- The obligation of expert witnesses in UK proceedings (and, to varying degrees, in other jurisdictions) to assist the court with objective, unbiased...
- Expert Witness
- A person whose specialised knowledge is accepted by a court and who gives opinion evidence, not just factual evidence. Forensic auditors frequently...
- Fact-Finder
- The person or body whose job is to determine what the facts are: a jury in common-law criminal trials, a judge sitting...
Explained in these topics
- Forensic Science and the Law: An IntroductionA legal model, common in civil-law countries, in which the court takes an active role in gathering and testing evidence rather than leaving all fact-finding to...
- Sources of Law for the Forensic ScientistA legal tradition, common in civil-law jurisdictions, in which the court takes an active role in investigating facts. Experts are typically court-appointed, ne...
- The Adversarial System and the Scientist's Place in ItA trial model in which the court or an investigating judge actively directs the inquiry, gathers evidence, and may appoint neutral experts. Prevalent in civil-...
- What Is Forensic Law and Why It MattersA model of legal proceedings, common in civil-law countries such as France and Germany, in which the court takes an active role in investigating facts. The for...