ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book offers instructive illustrations of contrasts between the patterns of punishment in different criminal justice systems and makes sense of different types of criminal procedure. Van Swaaningen points out that in most criminological textbooks hardly any attention is paid to national differences in culture, structure, crime and jurisdictions. It discusses that 'a comparative approach to criminal justice is almost a prerequisite nowadays for obtaining both research funding, be it from a research council or a government, and research kudos from one's peers'. The goals of comparative criminal justice may be classificatory, descriptive, explanatory or prescriptive and the relevance of globalisation may be different for each of the enquiries. Most work in comparative criminal justice continues to be interested mainly in classifying and describing different systems and does not really engage in questions of explanation or interpretation.
