Criminal Procedure

The Criminal Procedure Act regulates the entire criminal procedure, from the pre-trial procedure, the investigation to the main criminal procedure, where the rights and obligations of individual parties in the criminal procedure are precisely defined. Thus, in the criminal procedure, the procedural rights of the accused or defendants are clearly defined, and it is also clearly defined how evidence is presented, either in favor or against the accused. The criminal procedure also regulates the rights and obligations of injured parties and the procedure for claiming compensation from the accused. Compensation in the criminal procedure is claimed by the injured party, namely after the court calls on him to file an appropriate property claim. The injured party may participate in the criminal procedure at all times, namely also in the evidentiary procedure, since he has the right to propose the presentation of various pieces of evidence. A criminal procedure lawyer can represent both the person suspected of committing a criminal offense and the person who was harmed as a result of the commission of a criminal offense – the injured party in the criminal procedure.

The injured party may be represented by a criminal lawyer , who acts as an attorney and assists him in presenting evidence in criminal proceedings as well as in claiming appropriate compensation. The Criminal Procedure Act also regulates the rights and obligations of the prosecutor, who leads the prosecution against the defendant on behalf of the state. The prosecutor is therefore on one side, and the defendant and his defense attorney are on the other. The court is a neutral and independent body that, after the end of the criminal proceedings, decides whether the defendant is guilty of the criminal offence he is accused of or not. In the first case, the defendant is convicted, which is followed by a conviction, and in the second, he is acquitted, which is followed by an acquittal. Criminal proceedings are not yet complete with the issuance of a judgment by the court of first instance, as the parties have the option of appealing to the Higher Court. The Criminal Procedure Act also regulates all details regarding the filing of appeals as well as other legal remedies.

Criminal procedure lawyer

A criminal lawyer has a dual role. On the one hand, he or she can represent the accused or the defendant. In this case, we are talking about a lawyer as a defender in criminal proceedings. On the other hand, a criminal lawyer can represent the injured party. In this case, we are talking about a lawyer as an attorney in criminal proceedings. In both cases, the lawyer’s main task is to represent the interests of his or her client and help them assert their rights, while knowing and respecting all the rules governing criminal proceedings (primarily the Criminal Procedure Act) and the rules governing substantive criminal law (the Criminal Code). A criminal lawyer has a more difficult role than an attorney in criminal proceedings, as he or she is obliged to fight against the prosecutor, who has the entire state apparatus behind him or her. An attorney in criminal proceedings does not have such a difficult role, as he or she usually cooperates with the prosecutor and has an interest in the defendant being convicted. Only in the event of a final conviction of the defendant can the attorney’s property claim in criminal proceedings be successfully resolved.

Defense attorney in criminal proceedings

A defense attorney in criminal proceedings is a criminal lawyer who specializes in criminal proceedings. Everyone has the right to defend themselves in criminal proceedings with the help of a defense attorney. This also applies in pre-trial proceedings, even at the very beginning, when the suspect first comes into contact with the police. Sometimes defense with a defense attorney is even mandatory. This applies in various cases, especially when the suspect or accused is in custody or when he is being tried for a criminal offense for which a longer prison sentence is prescribed. In such cases, we say that the defense attorney in criminal proceedings has been appointed ex officio. In most cases, criminal lawyers are appointed as defense attorneys ex officio, but in some cases, the defendant decides that he would prefer his own defense attorney and appoints or appoints him himself. An attorney in criminal proceedings is usually not appointed ex officio, and the injured party decides for himself whether to hire a criminal lawyer for assistance. Exceptionally, an attorney in criminal proceedings is appointed ex officio, namely in cases where the injured party is a minor and special protection of their rights in criminal proceedings is required.

Commissioner in criminal proceedings

The authorized representative in criminal proceedings is also a criminal law attorney . His task, unlike the attorney as a defense attorney, is to help the injured party by filing an appropriate property claim, and indirectly thereby also helps the prosecutor, since both usually have the same interest, namely that the defendant is found guilty of committing a criminal offense and sentenced by a final court decision. The authorized representative in criminal proceedings participates in the presentation of evidence in criminal proceedings by proposing various pieces of evidence and questioning witnesses and the defendant. Both the defense attorney and the authorized representative are therefore lawyers in criminal proceedings, but they stand in opposition to each other and have completely different interests and goals. The authorized representative in criminal proceedings can even take on the role of prosecutor in certain cases. These are cases when the prosecutor withdraws from the prosecution, which can happen for various reasons, usually because the prosecutor believes that there is insufficient evidence to continue the prosecution against the defendant. In such cases, a criminal lawyer acts as a proxy for the prosecutor. Unfortunately, in practice, there are few cases where a proxy could successfully completely replace the prosecutor and achieve a conviction.

Evidence in criminal proceedings

The presentation of evidence in criminal proceedings is a complex activity. Sometimes, the presentation of evidence in criminal proceedings is understood as the procedure and the conduct of the defendant’s defense. In most cases, this term is used for the opposite case, namely for cases of proving the guilt of the defendant. In the first case, we are talking about the presentation of evidence in criminal proceedings carried out by the defendant and his possible defense attorney, and in the second case, about the presentation of evidence in criminal proceedings carried out by the prosecutor, to the detriment of the defendant. The presentation of evidence in criminal proceedings can begin very early. In the pre-trial phase, the police begin by collecting clues and evidence that should confirm or refute their suspicion that a certain person has committed a criminal offense. Such presentation of evidence by the police is led by the prosecutor, who leads and directs the police. When the police have collected enough evidence, they may in certain cases request an investigation in criminal proceedings, which may be followed by the filing of an indictment, or in other cases, they may immediately file an indictment. In both cases, the evidence in the criminal proceedings continues so that the court, based on the evidence already collected and any new evidence, judges whether it is sufficient to find the accused guilty of committing a criminal offence. The evidence in the criminal proceedings usually ends with a final court decision, which can be either convicting or acquitting.

Compensation in criminal proceedings

By compensation in criminal proceedings, we usually do not mean the compensation that a convicted person can claim from the state if he was wrongly convicted and consequently wrongly served a prison sentence, but mainly cases where the injured party demands compensation for damage from the defendant. The injured party requests compensation in criminal proceedings by filing an appropriate property claim (or property claim) before the court (usually with the help of a criminal law lawyer). The purpose of compensation for material or property damage is to compensate the injured party for the damage that was caused to him, in the case of non-pecuniary damage, to obtain appropriate satisfaction in monetary form. The criminal court decides on compensation in criminal proceedings, namely after it has established whether the defendant committed the criminal offense with which he is accused. Sometimes, when it is difficult to determine the amount of appropriate compensation in criminal proceedings, the court may decide not to rule on the damage caused despite a guilty verdict. In such cases, the court refers the injured party to a civil court to claim compensation.

Property claim in criminal proceedings

A property claim (also called a property claim) is filed by an injured party in criminal proceedings with the aim of obtaining appropriate compensation for the damage caused to them from the convicted person. At the very beginning of the criminal proceedings, the court specifically warns the injured party that they can file a property claim. A property claim in criminal proceedings usually does not need to be as detailed and elaborate as a claim for damages in civil proceedings, but it is still advisable for the injured party not to draft it themselves, but to obtain the appropriate assistance of a criminal law lawyer. A criminal law lawyer will not only help you draft and file an appropriate property claim, but will also ensure that it is successful, i.e. that you are actually compensated for the damage.

The position of the injured party in criminal proceedings

The position of the injured party in criminal proceedings is basically somewhat similar to the position of the witness in criminal proceedings. Both are initially questioned, and they are also expected to testify truthfully. The position of the injured party in criminal proceedings expands significantly as the criminal proceedings proceed. Unlike the witness, the injured party has the right to be represented by an attorney, can participate in the implementation of all evidentiary proposals and propose his own evidence, and above all, can file an appropriate property claim. The position of the injured party in criminal proceedings is fully regulated by the Criminal Procedure Act, which also specifies his rights and obligations in detail. The injured party in criminal proceedings is often also the main incriminating witness, who, unlike an ordinary witness, often has an interest in finding the defendant guilty of the criminal offence with which he is accused.

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