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FAQ

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What are the rights of the accused?

An accused is deemed to be the person against whom an indictment is brought at court, as well as person toward whom a prosecutor has filed a motion for conditional discontinuance of proceedings. An accused is party to criminal proceedings in court. The basic right of an accused is the right to defence. The accused may defend himself or he may benefit from of an appointed defence attorney. In strictly specified cases the accused must have a defence attorney (see above).

If an accused is temporary detained, he may communicate with his defence attorney in the absence of other persons or through correspondence, whereby a prosecutor during preparatory proceedings, in allowing communication, may in particularly justified cases stipulate his own presence or that of an authorised party. Yet, this condition cannot be maintained after 14 days from the date of temporary detention.

An accused may, among others:

• File motions and other statements in writing or orally for court minutes,
• Submit motions as to evidence,
• Pose questions to a cross examined party,
• File clarifications, but may without citing reasons refuse to reply to specific questions or refuse to submit clarifications; the accused must be informed of this right,
• Submit clarifications for each evidence,
• Review case files during proceedings and make copies,
• Obtain free photocopies of documents in case files,
• Take part in reviewing evidence out of court, whereby a detainee is brought only if deemed necessary by a court,
• File a motion to correct minutes of court sessions by indicating inconsistencies and omissions,
• Demand the drawing up of a written justification of a verdict and service of a verdict together with justification,
• File an appeal,
• Demand compensation from the State Treasury for wrongful conviction, temporary arrest or detention.