This handbook explores criminal law systems from around the world, with the express aim of stimulating comparison and discussion. Chapters cover all of the world's major legal systems--common, civil, Asian, and Islamic law traditions--with essays on sixteen countries on six different continents. The introduction places each country within traditional distinctions among legal systems and explores noteworthy similarities and differences among the countries covered, providing an ideal entry into the fascinating range of criminal law systems in use the world over.