Legal systems of different countries have specific laws that guide how they operate. The criminal justice system is one of the most notable aspects of most legal systems around the world. Germany and Saudi Arabia are two countries whose criminal justice systems have significant disparities, all of which either act to the advantage or disadvantage of those convicted or suspected of being involved in any crime. Such systems deal with apprehending, defending, prosecuting as well as punishing offenders. Cultural, historical aspects, politics, and traditions, in general, affect Saudi Arabia and Germany's criminal justice system and hence have had a major impact to date.
The origin of Saudi Arabia dates back to 1744. In the 7th century, the country became the cradle of Islam, with Mecca and Medina being iconic religious cities. Traditionally, tribal rulers were common. Al Saud mainly composed of these rulers. Between the years 1902 and 1927, the war led by Abdulaziz was won; hence, the establishment of Saudi Arabia kingdom in 1930. He ruled it as an absolute monarchy. Regardless of the fact that many rulers succeeded him, cultural aspects of the country, mainly influenced by the Islamic religion, mainly impacted not only the leadership of the country but also the way of life of most of its citizens. On the other hand, Germany has a long history of wars. Medieval Germany was hugely divided. During the middle age, the country was mostly controlled by dukes, princes as well as bishops. War-related undertakings such as the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars ensured a change of power from time to time. In the 19th century, the country was one of the most powerful in Europe. It was significantly involved in World War II and colonized in several countries worldwide. Culture in Germany was mainly influenced by religion as well as literacy. This was spearheaded by Luther's translation of the bible. Since 1517 onwards, religious texts circulated widely in German, ensuring religion has a major influence on the cultures as well as the traditions of native Germans.
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Historically, Germany's criminal justice system started very late in comparison to others in the western world. It was pioneered by German historians such as Dirk Blasius, Carsten Küther, and Alf Lüdtke in the 1970s as well as early 1980s ( Reinke, 2009) . Even then, there were fewer publications related to this field in Germany. Initially, the historians placed emphasis on social explanation of crime but later on, changed to cultural aspects. With time, the system has evolved, with a culture of policy formulation taking the centerline. It is a civilian legal system, with the laws adjudicated in the different levels of courts in the country being derived from German codes. This was mainly in the 19th century. Today, however, these traditional codes have been substantially modified to suit the current highly diversified legal system. The traditional laws took into consideration the cultures of the citizens it served, but today, they have been modified to suit citizens whose ways of life have drastically changed. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia's criminal justice system was initiated by Abdul-Aziz ibn Sa'ud. He envisioned a country where justice and peace prevailed. In order to ensure this, he made a foundation of criminal justice and legal system in general based on Islam. He chose this because of his surety that Islam would reflect on the culture as well as the history of Arabia Peninsula. Criminal justice laws, together with other legal system-related factors, were encompassed in a constitution regarded as Basic Regulation in 1926. The above constitution underwent multiple revisions until 1964-1975 when there was a need to form the ministry of justice. To date, the judicial system, with several courts such as the high court, the courts of appeals, and the first degree courts form a major part of the criminal justice system. Culturally, however, Saudi Arabia's criminal justice system has been dominated by Islamic Shari'ah, mainly sourced from Qur'an and the Sunnah (Alharbi, 2013) . Even when the courts' system was initiated in 1927, the basic governance system required the courts to solve cases brought before them in accordance with Islamic Shari'ah. Although the system has been substantially influenced by developments in this area and all over the world, the current legal system is oriented to Islamic laws.
The totalitarian culture had a significant impact on the laws made in Nazi Germany ( Reinke, 2009 . Although such a regime has been eradicated in this country, the criminal justice system was initially structured according to Nazism related fundamentals. On the other hand, Islamic as well as Arabic cultures, have had a significant impact on the criminal justice system of Saudi Arabia. Up to date, communities as well as law enforcement institutions are deeply religious, traditionally, highly conservative and have a particular focus on the family system. Shari'ah laws have hence been formulated based on the above aspects that are prevalent in this community.
Germany has not had major cultural changes in the last five years, and hence, its criminal justice has not had any major influence as a result of the above. On the other hand, however, there have been major cultural changes in Saudi Arabia. This is a highly hierarchical community, with women being at the bottom of the societal hierarchies (Alharbi, 2013) . This has, however, been slowly changing in the recent past. Initially, entertainment spaces were segregated but not anymore. This is one of the latest changes that has taken place. Both genders can now mix in these spaces. The rules that guide music and cinema as well as other forms of entertainment now come from the government and have been highly liberalized. Guardianship related norms have also been greatly challenged not only by some citizens from this country but, most importantly, the international community. The government has considered changing such cultural aspects and putting in place policies that give women the freedoms they deserve. This will have a major impact on the legal as well as the criminal justice system. With the above, there is hope that the criminal justice system will undergo a major change and that women will have legally recognized basic rights. It will hence have an impact on the cultures and traditions that have been challenged by human rights activists and other stakeholders.
Human rights-related legal issues have had a major impact on both systems. For Germany, for example, immigration-related factors, especially for asylum seekers, have impacted the German criminal justice system. The courts' system, as well as the judicial system, have had an impact on how related criminal cases are handled and hence, how the system is run in general. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia's system has been impacted by legal issues related to religion that are mainly supported by Islam. Besides this, the human rights-related issues in this country have been greatly challenged in the past. The denial of universal human rights or lack of their recognition in criminal justice are legal issues that have been impacting Saudi Arabia. Gender equality, as well as the challenging of norms that disadvantage women, have also influenced this system. The above legal issues are having a major impact on Saudi culture since culture is one of the major influential factors in this legal system.
Saudi Arabia is a deeply cultural and traditional country where although politics are shifting with time, the culture in the country dominates many systems, and hence, the influence of politics on the criminal justice system has been low (Brown, 2018). . On the other hand, with Germany's change of government from time to time, the policymakers are able to push for amendments or initiation of new bills in the criminal justice system.
In conclusion, Saudi Arabia and Germany's criminal justice system have significant disparities. While Saudi's system is mainly guided by Islamic Shari'ah, Germany is a civilian system. Although there have been major changes in Germany's policies related to criminal justice, Saudi Arabia has had few changes due to a few cultural changes. However, due to international as well as internal pressure from different stakeholders, it is possible that change will be realized in the system.
References
Alharbi, R. (2013). The Effects of Saudi Culture on The Sentence of The Crime. Retrieved 4 October 2019, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318459613_The_Effects_of_Saudi_Culture_on_The_Sentence_of_The_Crime
Brown, N. (2018). Politics over Doctrine: The Evolution of Sharia-based State Institutions in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Reinke, H. (2009). Crime and criminal justice history in Germany. A report on recent trends. Crime, Histoire & Sociétés , 13 (1), 117-137. doi: 10.4000/chs.698
