Abstract
The current Code of Criminal Procedure in Albania defines the procedural relationships between entities in all stages of the criminal procdure. This code focuses, inter alia, on the guarantee and respect of law and protection of the rights of the defendant in criminal proceedings. It should be noted that the Code of Criminal Procedure provides, inter alia, for the possibility of the court to change, in its final judgment, the legal qualification of the offense previously defined by the prosecution, in the formulation of the charge brought to trial. This action should be accompanied with some procedural guarantees which should provide the defendant real opportunities to effectively exercise the right to defense. A special emphasis in this paper will be given to the analysis on the decision of the court to change the legal qualification of the offense, particularly seen in relation to the rights of the defendant. This paper will also analyse the characteristics of the change to the legal qualification of the offense which will be illustrated with the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. In conclusion the paper will state some conclusions which are the product of the analysis of the doctrine and jurisprudence of the courts referred to in this paper. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2016.v5n2p117
Highlights
The current Code of Criminal Procedure in Albania defines the procedural relationships between entities in all stages of the criminal procdure
Article 375 of Albanian Code of Criminal Procedure entitles the court to provide, in its final judgement, the criminal fact found during the trial a legal qualification different from that which was specified in the charge brought against the defendant in trial
In relation to the change of legal qualification made by the Court of First Instance, the Strasbourg Court, in its judgment, held that during the assessment the lawfulness exercised in respect of all procedures, the reclassification of a crime does not constitute a violation of the right to defense if the defendant, after this action made by the court, has had sufficient opportunity to defend himself
Summary
The fourth section of the second chapter of the Albanian Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates the provisions related to New charges in criminal proceedings These provisions regulate special legal situations that include the conducting of the proceedings by the prosecution during the hearing, in which the defendant is brought to trial for the relevant charge. During the trial process the defendant presents the available arguments and evidences in favor of his procedural position in relation to the charge This process, otherwise known as the judicial debate, helps the court, in the conclusion of the trial, to accurately determine the validity of the charge based on the evidence presented in the trial and in the synthesis of this process to announce the final judgment. The aim of this paper is to analyze the constituent elements of the change of the legal qualification of the offense made by the court in view of guaranteeing the rights of defendants to achieve an effective defense against this legal situation created by the judgment of the court
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