Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.54070/hljk.32.2.2
THE INDICTMENT PANEL: GUARANTOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND HOSTAGE OF JUDICIAL EFFICIENCY
Marijan Bitanga
; Visoki kazneni sud RH, Hrvatska
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The Criminal Procedure Code has been applied in the courts of the Republic of Croatia
since 2008, and with numerous amendments has almost reached adulthood. Nevertheless, its
success is constantly being questioned by the professional and general public. The quality of
a law can be analysed through a variety of methodological approaches, but when it comes to
the Criminal Procedure Code, a strong indicator of its quality is the work of the indictment
panel, to the extent that the law’s success can be assessed through the quality of the work of the
indictment panel. Starting from the basic task of the indictment panel – to analyse the collected
evidence to establish reasonable suspicion and to make a decision in principle on whether the
conditions for initiating criminal proceedings have been met – the aim of this paper is to: 1)
present the positive normative framework of the indictment panel; 2) point out the decisions
of the indictment panels that we consider questionable; and 3) present a legislative proposal
for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code/08 on the work of the indictment panel with
indications of possible future trends. The answers to the first two tasks are crucial indicators of
the current quality of the work of the indictment panel, which has far-reaching implications in
terms of possible violations of the rights of the defendant, on the one hand, and the dynamics
of the actions of the criminal prosecution authorities, on the other.
Keywords
indictment, reasonable suspicion, length of proceedings before the indictment, legality of evidence
Hrčak ID:
342375
URI
Publication date:
1.12.2025.
Visits: 415 *