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MongoliaCriminal Court System
The Constitution charges the courts with administering
justice in accordance with the laws of the state; with upholding
the Constitution; with protecting the rights and interests of the
state; with protecting state, public, and cooperative property;
and with safeguarding the personal, political, and property
rights of the citizens. Courts try cases of treason; sabotage;
embezzlement of state, cooperative, and public property; theft;
robbery; swindling; and other crimes based on the criminal code.
They also try cases involving losses inflicted on private
citizens, on the state, and on cooperative and public enterprises
and organizations according to the civil code
(see Major State Organizations
, ch. 4).
Courts punish persons convicted of crimes, but they also
serve as educative and political agencies. They correct,
reeducate, and reform criminals. They are called on to train
citizens in the spirit of "dedication to the fatherland" and in
the cause of "socialist democracy"; to uphold the strict and
undeviating observance of the law; to train citizens in the
careful treatment of state, cooperative, and other public
property; and to support the observation of labor discipline, the
honoring of state and public duty, and respect for the rules of
communal life. The courts are expected to promote popular
attitudes of loyalty, patriotism, peaceful behavior, and
enthusiasm for socialism; to uphold conformity with the laws and
respect for public property and labor discipline; and to involve
citizens in state and civic affairs.
The court system consists of the Supreme Court, aymag
courts, city courts, and special courts. Except in special cases
for which provisions are made by law, all cases in all courts are
tried by permanent judges in the presence of assessors, who are
elected representatives sitting on the bench with the judges. The
assessors hear the evidence, may question witnesses and the
accused, examine the case as presented by the procurator, and
participate in findings and sentences. When a question of law or
its interpretation arises, however, the judge's opinion rules. An
assessor may serve for no more than twenty days per year, unless
the nature of a case or crime requires the period to be extended.
Citizens twenty-three years or older who have never been
convicted by a court are eligible for election as judges and
assessors.
According to the Constitution, the Supreme Court is the
highest judicial body. It is elected by the People's Great Hural
for a term of four years, and it is responsible and accountable
to the People's Great Hural and its presidium (Article 66 of the
Constitution as amended). It consists of a chairman, a deputy
chairman, members, and assessors, as may be determined by the
People's Great Hural. The Plenum of the Supreme Court consists of
the chairman, the deputy chairman, and all members meeting
together in a general session. The Presidium of the Supreme Court
consists of a committee of selected members. There is a judicial
chamber in charge of criminal cases, another in charge of civil
cases, and a third in charge of overseeing the work of all the
judicial organs of the state.
The Supreme Court directs, inspects, and reviews the work of
all the lower courts. It supervises all judicial work in the
state, and it formulates national legal policies. The court holds
a general session at least once a month, that is attended by the
procurator or the procurator's deputy. Decisions at general
sessions are adopted by voice majority of the membership. Such
sessions may change previous interpretations of the laws, but not
the Constitution. Only the Presidium of the People's Great Hural
has the right to examine and change decisions reached in the
Supreme Court's general sessions or in court cases. The Presidium
of the Supreme Court reviews the work of all lower courts and
investigates the general causes of crime in the country. The
Supreme Court also may take jurisdiction over certain cases,
presumably those posing serious difficulties, problems of legal
procedure or jurisprudence, or serious dangers to the state that
ordinarily would be tried by military or by railroad courts.
In 1989 there were about 100 circuit courts throughout the
country--5 to 7 in each aymag. Circuit courts serve about
340 counties, or
somons (see Glossary),
and towns. Each
circuit court has jurisdiction over several somons in
dealing with citizen complaints and with criminal and civil
cases. Judges and jurors are elected for three-year terms--the
judges by the regular session of the aymag assemblies, the
jurors by direct elections. The courts promote knowledge of the
laws, and they work for crime prevention.
Each aymag and city court consists of a chairman, a
deputy chairman, members, and assessors. Judges and assessors are
elected for two-year terms by the local assemblies of people's
deputies. These courts can try all criminal cases except those
that fall under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, the
special courts, and the state arbitration organs. These courts
also engage in crime prevention propaganda and the popularization
of the law. They report on their own work to aymag and
municipal assemblies.
There also are special military and railroad transport
courts. Each is staffed by a chairman, a deputy chairman,
members, and assessors; all are elected by the People's Great
Hural to three-year terms. Military courts try cases involving
military personnel, fire fighters, and militia members. Railroad
courts try cases connected with the operation of railroad lines
and with criminal and civil offenses committed by railroad
workers. A trial is carried out under the chairmanship of one
judge, assisted by two assessors.
The Constitution establishes the Office of the Procurator of
the Republic. It vests the position with supreme supervisory
power over the strict observance of the laws by all ministries
and other central administrative bodies, and by the institutions
and organizations subordinate to them; by local bodies; by all
public and cooperative organizations; by all officials; and by
all citizens. The procurator is appointed by the People's Great
Hural to a four-year term and is responsible and accountable to
the People's Great Hural and its presidium. The procurator
appoints aymag, somon, and municipal procurators
for three-year terms. These local procurators are subordinate
only to the procurator of higher rank.
Thus the procuratorial system parallels that of the courts,
and its chain of command extends unbroken from top to bottom. The
Office of the Procurator serves as a check on the entire court
system, as well as on the government apparatus. As such it wields
enormous power and is a strong arm of the party for enforcing its
national policies.
The procurator is authorized to review the activities of the
Ministry of State Security and its field organizations, all
organizations of inquiry, all militia units, and all judicial
organizations. The procurator's staff reviews all cases, takes
account of sentences, and checks on the legality of detentions
and on prison conditions. It supports public prosecution work in
each locality, issues arrest warrants and confirms indictments,
protests against laws it considers illegal or unconstitutional,
checks the legality of resolutions, ensures that state orders and
regulations are properly issued, and supervises all public
prosecutors and the investigative apparatus.
The deputy procurator is appointed by the procurator for a
three-year term, subject to confirmation by the Presidium of the
People's Great Hural. The incumbent is charged with reviewing the
investigative organs of the Ministry of State Security and the
militia; with checking prison conditions and the legality of
detentions; with reviewing legal judgments, rulings, and
decisions of regular and special courts; and with participating
in Supreme Court preparatory and judicial sessions as the
procurator's representative.
The assistant procurator is appointed by the procurator and
confirmed by the Presidium of the People's Great Hural. The
assistant procurator supervises the coroners, the Office of the
Military Procurator, and the border guards; is responsible for
prompt action on all statements and complaints from state and
public institutions and private citizens; and supervises the
legal personnel on the procurator's staff and legal training in
the country.
At the local level, aymag and municipal procurators
issue arrest warrants, direct coroners and militia organs in
crime investigations, and review the investigative activity of
the organs under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Coroners,
under direction of the procurators, are required to make prompt
inquiry into all criminal cases. They appear in court in criminal
cases as expert witnesses and in civil cases as defenders for
workers and the state. They may be members of the medical bureaus
that are attached to all courts in order to examine victims
injured in crimes, to perform autopsies, and to conduct
scientific investigations. Bailiffs at each level are appointed
by the court chairman. They see that the decisions and sentences
imposed by the courts are carried out.
All persons charged with a violation can be handed over,
together with the evidence against them, to the courts of local
assemblies by official and public organizations, local
authorities, procurators, militia members, or citizens. An
accused person has the right to be tried within one month of
arrest or is automatically absolved.
Court proceedings are conducted in Mongol, but a person not
speaking the language has the right both to an interpreter and to
use his or her own language in court. Accused people are
guaranteed the right to defend themselves. All cases are heard in
public, except for special cases in which the law provides for
closed courts.
Verdicts, decrees, and decisions of all courts except the
Supreme Court may be appealed by the defense or by the
prosecution. Decisions and sentences legally in force can be
protested only by the chairman of the Supreme Court, by the state
procurator, or by the minister of state security.
Data as of June 1989
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