Review article
Procedural Actions of the Higher Court Following the Appeal Against the First-Instance Judgment in Criminal Matters
Tadija Bubalović
; Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Rijeci
Abstract
The author in this article presents an overview of procedural actions of the higher court (second-instance court, appellate court, court of second instance, court of appeal - iudex ad quem) in proceedings following the appeal against a judgment rendered by a first-instance court. After general introductory remarks on the notion of criminal court, legal remedies and second-instance procedure, the author gives a special attention to the right of access to higher court which is guaranteed under the Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Furthermore, he discusses an important thesis that the extent, content and course of second-instance proceedings are determined by the appeal itself and that the court, not the parties, has a dominant role in the proceedings which is contrary to the first-instance proceedings. Procedural actions of the higher court are described throughout different phases. The trial in front of the higher court is conducted in open or closed panel sessions to discuss and deliver a decision upon an appeal based on the merits. In executive sense the trial is divided in procedural actions before, during and after the panel session. In the final chapter of the article, the author emphasises that the main task of the higher curt is to legally and fairly execute the second-instance proceedings and to make a correct decision regarding the justifiability of submitted appeal. In that manner, the higher court becomes a rectifier of lower criminal courts work and working results and at the same time strongly contributes to the realisation of important constitutional principle, the principle of rule of law in society.
Keywords
criminal court; legal remedies; appeal; higher court; second-instance proceedings
Hrčak ID:
63630
URI
Publication date:
20.12.2010.
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