The accusatorial system is designed for those relatively rare cases when error slips through the peer-review net, resulting in some concrete damage to health or the environment, or causing the corruption of later research that assumes the validity of fraudulent work. To lodge an accusation, the accuser must establish that some harm has been committed, which is then shown to have been the fault of the accused.
问责制度是为相对罕见的案例设置的，在这种情况下，错误不知不觉地逃过了同行审查网络，对健康或环境造成一些具体损害，或造成随后认定欺骗工作有效的科研腐败。为了进行问责，问责者必须确定已造成一些损害，而且证明是由于被告人犯下过失所致。