The inquisitorial and adversarial systems

• In an inquisitorial system, the court is actively involved in determining the way in which the competing claims are presented
• Different from the adversarial system, where the role of the court is to act as an impartial referee
• The inquisitorial system derives from the Roman and Napoleonic codes
• Found in Europe, Japan, and some other countries
• In the inquisitorial system, a judge or group of judges have the task of investigating the case before them
• Indonesia uses an inquisitorial system for criminal trials
• Judges conduct an inquiry into the truth of what occurred, the facts behind the legal issues in dispute
• Judges can admit evidence that might not be admitted in an Australian court
• Judges can decide which witnesses will be called and could call for outside testimony not requested by either side
• Australia uses the adversarial system in both criminal and civil court proceedings
• The adversarial system involves the two sides of the case trying to prove their version of the facts and disprove the version of the other side
• In a criminal trial, the defendant is assumed to be innocent until proven guilty and does not have to prove anything
• Most people accused of a crime will retain the services of a legal team to show how the prosecution's case is flawed