Comparison of Serbian and Japanese punitive reaction

In this paper we have come to some important conclusions regarding the legal systems in Serbia and Japan. Despite the fact that these two countries are geographically far away from each other, their solutions in criminal law are not as different. First of all, criminal procedure in Serbia and in Japan is based on adverse elements, with the dominant prosecutor's role during the pre-trial period. Throughout the trial, the court is relatively passive and this phase of criminal procedure is party oriented. The organization of the judiciary is also similar (basic courts, higher courts, appellate courts and Supreme Court) but Japan does not have Constitutional Court. Also, Japan has a special kind of the jury called 'saiban-in' system. Furthermore, we remarked the differences in the field of procedural phases and grounds for legal remedies. Finally, the duration of pre-trial detention in Japan is apparently shorter than in Serbia, what can be a source for legal transplants, because the duration of detention in the Republic of Serbia is a major problem due to huge amounts of money which state must pay to unlawfully detained people. When it comes to criminal sanctions, it is mentioned that death penalty does not exist in Serbia and also that fines are much more connected with Japan's criminal law because of higher standard of living. To conclude, this paper has shown that legal systems which are prima faciae supposed to be different due to cultural and social differences can be similar in many basic solutions.