1. In a town called Peace Land, the supporters of the Fiesta football team learn that the supporters of the Jubilee football team in the nearby city, about 40 km away, have damaged the ground on which the final match between both teams is to be held on the following day. A crowd of Fiesta fans armed with deadly weapons attacked the homes of the supporters of the Jubilee football team in the town. In the attack, 10 men were killed, 5 women were gravely hurt, many homes were destroyed, and over 50 people were injured.
Imagine that you and your classmates are now part of the criminal justice system. First, divide the class into the following four groups of persons:
1. Police 2. Public Prosecutor 3. Defence Lawyer 4. Judge
The column on the right provides a list of functions. Match these with the roles that are listed on the left. Have each group pick the functions that it needs to perform to bring justice to those who were affected by the violence of the Fiesta fans. In what order will these functions be performed?
| Roles | Functions |
| Police | Hear the witnesses Record the statements of witnesses Cross-examine the witnesses Take photographs of burnt homes Record the evidence Arrest the Fiesta fans Writes the judgment Argue the case for the victims Decide the number of years for which the accused will be put in jail Examine the witnesses in court Pass the judgment Get the assaulted women medically examined Conduct a fair trial Meet the accused persons |
| Public Prosecutor | |
| Defence Lawyer | |
| Judge |
Now, take the same situation but ask one student who supports the Fiesta Club to perform all the functions listed above. Do you think the victims would get justice if only one person performed all of the functions of the criminal justice system? Why not?
State two reasons why you believe that different persons need to play different roles as part of the criminal justice system.
Answer:
| Role | Functions |
| Police | Records the statements of witnesses Takes photographs of burnt homes Arrests the Fiesta fans Gets the assaulted women medically examined |
| Public Prosecutor | Cross examines the witnesses Argues the case for the victims |
| Defence Lawyer | Meets the accused persons Examines the witnesses in court |
| Judge | Hears the witnesses Records the evidence Writes the judgement Decides for how many years the accused will be put in jail Passes the judgement Conducts a fair trial |
The victim will not get justice if only one person performs all the functions of the criminal justice system because he could get influenced by various prejudices. Separation of power is necessary within a judicial system, too, since absolute power can lead to unfairness.
Two reasons why different people need to play different roles as part of the criminal justice system are as follows:
- All the aspects of trial and investigation cannot be conducted by a single person, as it entails a diverse range of work, including arresting, recording the statements of witnesses, defending the victim and accused parties, passing a fair trial and judicially correct judgement.
- If all the powers are vested in one person alone, they might be misused and thereby violate the laws based on justice and equal decision.
A single ideology may not be the right one, as it can affect the trial and the result of the case.
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