ABSTRACT
Generalisations about criminal justice in faraway lands are commonplace: ‘In the Netherlands they don’t have juries’; ‘In Saudi Arabia they cut off your hand for stealing’; ‘British judges wear wigs’; ‘Police officers in China do people’s laundry’. They are snippets of information that may arouse curiosity, but often that curiosity is of a fleeting nature. In the news media, criminal justice abroad receives coverage when compatriots find themselves in trouble with the law abroad. But typically when a case comes to an end so does the interest in the criminal justice system of the country at issue. In the popular media, interest in how justice is done elsewhere is thus typically fleeting, perhaps even flippant. It is doubtful that much is learned about the specific arrangements at issue let alone that it could shape our thoughts on how justice can be done more generally.
