ABSTRACT
A key characteristic of the English legal system is often said to be its adversarialism, an accusatorial rather than an inquisitorial process. The sharp distinction between the decision on guilt and the decision on sentence is also a characteristic of the English legal system. It is also worth noting that criminal justice processes are governed by complex laws, which are frequently changed. The complex rules of evidence and procedure in England evolved in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, largely because of the dominant decision-making position of the lay jury. The Homicide Act 1957 introduced a partial defence of diminished responsibility arising from abnormality of mind for individuals charged with murder. The adversarial process of examination and cross-examination, supplemented by questioning by the judge, in criminal proceedings can enable rigorous and meticulous testing of clinical opinion, particularly with regard to its basis, consistency, logic, and reasoning.
