ZAGREB, Sept 25 (Hina) - The Croatian Parliament House of Representatives continued its session on Thursday with a discussion on the final Bill on Criminal Proceedings, which is an integral part of the overall reform of the criminal
law. The Bill accepts and elaborates the basic human rights and freedoms of citizens, and covers new forms of criminal acts, Justice Minister Miroslav Separovic said. "The crux is to achieve a balance between and effective trial and rights of the defendant," Separovic said, adding that in the criminal proceedings, it needed to be established whether the criminal act had really been committed.
ZAGREB, Sept 25 (Hina) - The Croatian Parliament House of
Representatives continued its session on Thursday with a
discussion on the final Bill on Criminal Proceedings, which is an
integral part of the overall reform of the criminal law.
The Bill accepts and elaborates the basic human rights and
freedoms of citizens, and covers new forms of criminal acts,
Justice Minister Miroslav Separovic said.
"The crux is to achieve a balance between and effective
trial and rights of the defendant," Separovic said, adding that
in the criminal proceedings, it needed to be established whether
the criminal act had really been committed. #L#
The emphasis of the law was on the previous procedure,
Separovic said, especially stressing supervision measures.
The provisions of this bill regulate the taping of phone
and other conversations from a distance, video recording of
private premises and secret following of persons and objects,
with the supervision and control of the court, he said.
Separovic pointed out the expansion of the jurisdiction of
the state attorney, adding that a state attorney should, in a
case of a less serious crime, be able to cease prosecution if the
suspect agreed to fulfil some of the envisaged commitments aimed
at repairing the damage, for example, working for the benefit of
the society.
The state attorney could cease the prosecution of a member
of a criminal organisation if he helped with the uncovering of
the organisation, Separovic said.
He added that some comments of Parliament's committees and
MPs in the first reading had been accepted, for example, the
reintroduction of obligatory imprisonment for the most serious
crimes.
Provisions on the questioning of suspects have also been
envisaged to maximally protect the rights of the suspect,
evidence regarded as illegal has been defined more closely, the
jurisdictions of the civil and military police have been more
clearly distributed and witness protection has been elaborated.
(hina) lm jn
251214 MET sep 97