Adversarial and Inquisitorial Systems

Jay Shree Ram law students, professionals and aspirants. Welcome to my blog on the adversarial and inquisitorial systems of justice dispensing. The main objective of this blog is to understand the difference between two main classes of the legal system.

Adversarial and Inquisitorial Systems

Introduction:

Every legal system in this world can be broadly classified into two models: Adversarial and Inquisitorial. This classification is depending on the techniques of adjudication and justice delivery mechanisms but both the systems aim at dispensing justice. [1]

Adversarial legal system

Basic framework:

Advantages:

• The use of cross-examination can be an effective way to test the credibility of witnesses presented; [1]
• The parties may be more willing to accept the results when they are given effective control over the process. [1]

Disadvantages:

• The cost of the justice system falls upon the parties. This creates an in-built discrimination amongst the litigants. Parties with better resources are able to access justice by hiring competent lawyers and presenting sophisticated evidences which may not be immediately available for parties that lack these resources. Accessibility and affordability to justice are important challenges for the adversarial system of dispute resolution. [1]
• The role of lawyers and the procedural formalities, e.g. cross examination may prolong the trial and lead to delays in several matters. [1]
• Judges play less active role; a judge is not duty bound to ascertain the truth but only to evaluate the matter based on the evidences presented before him/her. [1]

Inquisitorial legal system:

Basic working framework:

Advantages:

• The system offers procedural efficiency as the active role of judges prevents delays and prolonged trials. [1]
• The system preserves equality between the parties as even the stronger party with more resources and expert lawyers may not be able to influence the judges. [1]

Disadvantages:

• In an inquisitorial system, since the judge steps into the shoes of an investigator, he/she can no longer remain neutral to evaluate the case with an open mind. [1]
• There may be a lack of an incentive structure for judges to involve themselves in proper fact finding. [1]

Differences between adversarial and inquisitorial systems:

Sr. No.	Adversarial Legal System	Inquisitorial Legal System
1.	In an adversarial system, the parties in a legal proceeding develop their own theory of the case and gather evidence to support their claims.	In an inquisitorial legal system the parties come with the matter in dispute in their own words and can submit the evidence as required by the judge/decision maker.
2.	The parties are assisted by their lawyers who take a pro-active role in delivering justice to the litigants.	In an inquisitorial system, the judge/decision maker takes a centre-stage in dispensing justice.
3.	The lawyers gather evidence and even participate in cross-examination and scrutiny of evidence presented by the other disputing party.	The judge/decision maker decides the manner in which the evidence must be presented before the court. For example, the judge may decide for presentation of a specific form of evidence, i.e. oral (witness statement) or documentary (correspondence between the parties through letters/emails) or a combination of both. The judge then evaluates the evidence presented before him/her and decides upon the legal claims.
4.	The role of the judge/decision maker is rather passive as the judge decides the claims based solely on the evidences and arguments presented by the parties and their lawyers.	The role of the judge/decision maker is active as he/she determines the facts and issues in dispute.
5.	This is common law model.	This is an interventionist/investigative model.
6.	More reliance on cross examination and other techniques often used by lawyers to evaluate evidences of their opposing counsel.	Less reliance is placed on cross-examination and other techniques often used by lawyers to evaluate evidences of their opposing counsel.

 

Reference:

1) CBSE Class XII Legal Studies

2)