Rule of restriction of the court to the limits of criminal proceedings

Abstract

The principle of restrict the court within the criminal lawsuit limits, means restricting the power of the court by the personal limits of the criminal case. A sound foundation of this principle lies in the impartiality of the judge, which requires him to look into the case from the perspective of impartiality derived from the presumption of the judge that the defendant is innocent originally. It is not conflicted with the commitment to this principle, if there is any change in the legal description for the fact of the case, or in case of modifying the charge by the court, which seem to be more compatible. Because in both mentioned situations, the court does not bring any additional fact to the accused person. That means the court will prosecute the defendant through the same case but under another description, which consistent more with the fact of the case, as a result of judicial investigations or trial.
 Notably, in case of convicting the defendant immediately due to committing a misdemeanor or infraction in the court room, the court may relatively exceed the objective limits of the criminal lawsuit. Moreover, the stipulation on the personal limits for the criminal lawsuit only, without objective limits in the Iraqi Criminal Procedure Code, is considered as a lack point in this legislation which must be realized and avoided by the court.