Cardassian Courts

[Gazomg]

Basically they suck.

For a race of intelligent, artistic people, their legal system sucks, it almost backwards and akin to some islamic state sanctioned murder systems we see today in parts of the world

[Shada Dukal]

Actually, their court system is very logical for their type of society but it was deliberately presented as an Orwellian perversion of justice. Basically, Cardassians have statutory law or civil law. This means that they have written law that is set down by a Legislative Body. In their case, the Legislative Body is the Ministry of Justice. Statutory laws are subordinate to the constitutional law.

This is not the common law based on precedents and that is why people consider it weird. See this.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/economis ... xplains-10

[Shada Dukal]

The Nestor is the lawyer for the defendant, the Archon is a judge and a public prosecutor at the same time defending the state and public interests and the Conserver is more of a public defender but still presenting the case in terms of its social implications. Such a system is also called inquisitorial and places great importance on evidence gathering and pre-court criminal investigation. In most cases, the outcome is known beforehand because each type of felony is strictly codified so the archon simply announces what the law envisages. There are no precedents because the judge applies the sanction provided by law. The defendant is found guilty for violation of a particular act and article of law and they are given the punishment the law prescribes. Even a non-juridical person can check what the law envisages for breaching each act or article.

The fact that the trials are public serves as a deterrent for future crimes. Since Cardassians view their state as omnipotent and benevolent such public displays of justice boost their faith in their system and way of life. The state in all societies is viewed as the ultimate regulator of the various interests in the society. Richer societies can afford to place individual needs before the communal effort but poorer societies need a more definitive and even oppressive in democratic terms system to make sure that ordinary people are not robbed of basic amenities.

Having in mind how much contemporary people love reality shows and docudramas based on real trials as well as the popularity of authors such as John Grisham, I guess the Cardassians view the public trials that way. A show where the socially unacceptable elements are punished and the public and state interests always win. Cardassians also value order and discipline so they believe that the state makes its best to ensure that everyone plays by the rules. This is not the case, of course, but ordinary people need to trust their state. Political maneuvering takes place in the lobbies of the Detapa Council, Central Command, and the Obsidian Order but what people see is that the state is there and it is doing its job.