Abuse of Procedural Rights: Comparative Standards of Procedural Fairness

In a very meaningful way, the health of a judicial system may be judged by the care with which its procedural rights are observed. Now, in a book that takes stock of this important element as it is currently used or abused in a number of the world''s legal systems, eighteen outstanding scholars approach the subject through an analysis of the following factors:

• • the theoretical and moral implications of procedural abuses
• • the subjects who commit them
• • the typologies of abusive practices
• • the consequences of abusive practices

Several authors report on practices in their own countries, revealing distinct evidence of a significant degree of lowered procedural standards in the United States, several European countries, Australia, Japan, and Latin America.

General and final reports provide a comparative framework for an analytical study that will repay the study of anyone concerned with the fairness of our legal institutions.