Criminal Procedure: Pre-Trial Proceedings, Investigative Actions, Coercive Measures
Pre-trial proceedings
This domain tests the Criminal Procedure Code from report to indictment, including investigative actions, coercive measures and prosecutorial supervision.
- A report is verified; the decision to initiate or refuse a case must be lawful, reasoned and timely. Inquiry and preliminary investigation are forms of pre-trial proceedings.
- Investigative actions such as search, seizure, interrogation, confrontation, identification and expert examination require a lawful decision, proper participants, explained rights and a protocol. Actions limiting constitutional rights need court authorization except in urgent cases defined by law.
- Coercive measures include detention, preventive measures (recognizance, bail, house arrest, custody), seizure of property and suspension. Detention is short-term; custody requires judicial control and strict deadlines.
- The prosecutor supervises legality, may quash illegal decisions, order additional investigation and protect victims' rights.
Worked example
Police search a flat without a warrant, claiming urgency. The prosecutor reviews the protocol: was there a lawful urgent ground, was a court decision obtained within the required time, were witnesses and the owner present? If not, the evidence may be inadmissible and disciplinary or criminal liability may follow.
Traps
Detention is not custody. A protocol defect can cost the evidence. Supervision does not allow the prosecutor to fabricate evidence or replace the investigator.