| Abstrakt: |
The adoption of the new criminal procedure regulations marked an important step in the direction of fulfilment of the provisions of the principle of adversariality and the equality of the defense and accusation parties in the criminal procedure. The renunciation of the priority of the punitive orientation, the strengthening of the guarantees of the objective examination of criminal cases have found their corresponding reflection in the legal norms, which determine the circle of circumstances to be proven in criminal procedure. Keeping the obligation of the criminal prosecution bodies to establish the circumstances that confirm the commission of the crime and the guilt of the perpetrator, the criminal procedure law also reviews the circumstances pertaining to the person's innocence or those capable to reduce the liability: the circumstances that exclude the criminal character of the act; which can lead to release from liability or criminal punishment, etc. However, establishing the circumstances that are in the interest of the accused or the defendant is one of the basic tasks of the criminal procedure. Hence, the activity of the defense lawyer, focused on their identification and clarification, does not contradict the tasks of the criminal procedure, is not focused on protecting criminals, but on achieving the goals specified by law. Under these conditions, the involvement of the defender in ensuring the immediacy of the examination of evidence in criminal procedure is legal and necessary, representing an inseparable element of the evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
