Questions about MoM Political and Legal Systems

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 37044

Brenna wrote:

> And what happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? Hagrid is 
hauled of to Azkaban without any preface, Harry receives an 
expulsion threat for magic that Dobby did, and Fudge doubts 
Harry because of a tabloid  article! <<

And Sirius was imprisoned without trial. The broad powers of 
Crouch as Head of Magical Law Enforcement and   judge of the 
Council of Magical Law are reminiscent of the Scottish legal 
system which was based on Roman models. "Innocent until 
proven guilty" is a principle of English common law and did not 
apply in Scotland as late as the 18th century.

The judge's job was not to make sure that a trial was conducted 
according to precedent, but to investigate and find out what 
happened, similar to the way  the French appointed a judge to 
investigate the death of Princess Diana. 

One may theorize that the wizarding courts are also based on 
Roman models. Dumbledore, whom I assume is English, 
applies the "innocent until proven guilty" standard to his 
governance of Hogwarts, but  that does not mean it is a principle 
of wizarding jurisprudence as a whole.

Pippin