DGS vs England IRL Lore Thread: Part 1, The English Legal System
This is a three-part series where I talk about the references to IRL Britain, the first of which features the English Legal System. British Pop Culture and London Locations soon to follow. Please expect spoilers for both DGS1 & DGS2!
Some disclaimers;
I. I do not claim to be an authoritative figure on the English legal system. I don't even have a law degree. I am just A Nerd. II. I'm not an expert in British culture either. III. This thread is a collection of neat things I thought about while playing the DGS games and my appreciation for the excellent localisation. IV. It is not exhaustive and there are probably things that I've I missed. V. References to British Imperialism and Colonialism will be made.
1. Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Friendship and Navigation
Contradicting my own header with something that is definitely not about the English Legal System, I'm going to start with talking about the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Friendship and Navigation, because whilst I did not study law I DID study International Relations please just let me feel useful
The treaty mentioned probably referred to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance Treaty signed in 1902. It's not the first treaty between the two states - that honour goes to the Friendship treaty signed in 1854, which ended Japanese isolation. The 1902 treaty, on the other hand, marked the end of the UK's temporary isolation period. It (and the Entente Cordiale with France) was formed partly in response to Russian expansion.
That's good old-fashioned political realism! It will also set the stage for WW1.
2. The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is a very new institution, established in 2009 under the Constitutional Reform Act of 2005. The role and responsibility of the Lord Chief Justice also changed with that reform act, replacing the Lord Chancellor as the head of the judiciary in England and Wales (the Northern Irish have their own and the Scottish equivalent is the Lord President of the Court of Session).
The modern Supreme Court, though, is indeed located in the Whitehall/Westminster area.
3. Becoming a lawyer
This is of course, untrue, both of today and of the early 1900s. Appointing lawyers is not the scope of the Lord Chief Justice, but back then to become a barrister (more on this later) you needed
i. An LLB (Bachelors of Law) + PCLL (Postgraduate Certificate in law, now a Legal Practice Course/LPC)
ii. 1 - 2 years of training aka pupilage in one of four Inns of Court
iii. Confirmation by the Bar Council
AFAIK the Lord Chief Justice does not have any executive authority in deciding who does or does not become a lawyer. Obviously for in game purposes. Ryunosuke gets some wriggle room, but they were definitely a lot stricter with Phoenix in his games regarding his law degree and being called to the bar.
4. The Old Bailey
Formally known as the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, it is also nicknamed for the road that it's on. These days, the Crown Court that sits in it primarily hears major criminal cases, such as high profile murders or serial killings, with most cases going to the Supreme Court instead. While it hears primarily cases from London, on occasion, major cases from around England and Wales may be sent here as well. It kind of makes sense that it's the kind of court that Ryunosuke would be working at.
Up until 1902 there was an adjoining prison, and up until 1868 hangings were carried out for public's viewing on the streets outside.
Incidentally, today, it is approximately ten minutes by car from the Supreme Court.
5. The Jury System
Juries have existed as an institution in the English legal system for the longest time, though it had always been socially exclusive, restricted to predominantly land-owning men for most of its history. The purpose of a jury is to provide a "layman's perspective" in court, and today, it fulfils the right of a defendant to be tried by their peers and not by some other class lording over them (yes I see the irony). It is also a prominent feature of common law judicial systems (which originated in England) as it evolved alongside it.
Summation Examination, of course, is not a real thing. In fact, in most instances, juries are not allowed to offer their justifications, and only the foreman speaks, doing so on behalf of the rest of the jury.
6. The Prosecution
The English legal system is not divided by Defense Attorneys and Prosecutors, but by Solicitors and Barristers. Solicitors are responsible for doing investigative work and prepping cases and bring them to barristers, whereas barristers are focused entirely on advocacy in court. Whether a barrister will be prosecuting or defending depends on the case that they are working on.
The exception to this is the Crown Prosecution Service, established in 1986, which functions as a department responsible for providing legal advice to the police and for carrying out criminal prosecutions on behalf of the Crown. Apart from internal staff, it also engages approved external advocates.
7. Terms of Address
When Lord Van Zieks refers to Ryunosuke as his friend, he's not being sarcastic in that way. In English court, the appropriate form of address from one lawyer to another is to say, "my learned friend." It's a means of being respectful and civil, and it comes from a very old-school reference of recognising the other as a person learned in law.
Lord Van Zieks, of course, is very formal and courteous all of the time, though he does occasionally refer to Ryunosuke as Counsel.
Ryunosuke, on the other hand, has straight out referred to the prosecution by name (Prosecutor van Zieks, Prosecutor Asogi), and it's a good reflection of someone who hasn't yet fully grasped the intricacies of the English court.
Meanwhile, Kazuma is only formal some of the time - he starts off by referring to Ryunosuke as my learned friend, but once he starts getting emotional he falls back on addressing Ryunosuke by name.
Incidentally, while the judge and the Lord Chief Justice are both referred to as "My Lord," in correspondence the appropriate title would be the very fancy "The Honourable Mr/Ms Justice ___" for the Judge and "The Right Honourable The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales" for the Lord Chief Justice.
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And that's it! Stay tuned for the next installment.... if and when that ever comes.
