The investigatory phase

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 424.

Procedure before trial

Criminal procedure

Part 2

Questions and tasks to Part 1

1. Define the notion «procedural law».

2. What are the main stages of civil procedure?

3. Explain the following: «The Anglo-American common-law procedure is adversarial, the continental European civil-law procedure is inquisitorial».

4. What are the functions of the jury and the judge in the Anglo-American jury trial?

The law of criminal procedure regulates the modes of apprehending, charging, and trying suspected offenders; the imposition of penalties on convicted offenders; and the methods of challenging the legality of conviction after judgment is entered. Litigation in this area frequently deals with conflicts of fundamental importance for the allocation of power between the state and its citizens.

When a criminal offense has been reported, the competent authority (the police, the public prosecutor, or the investigating magistrate) commences the criminal process by investigating the circumstances. In this phase, relevant evidence is collected and preserved for a possible trial. The suspect also has the right to collect evidence in his favour. In the civil-law countries of continental Europe, he can typically request the investigating authority to assist him in this endeavour; in common-law countries, the suspect is expected to take the initiative in preparing the case for his defense.