The Evolution of the Regulations regarding the Right to Compensation for Judicial Errors in Criminal Trials - Based on the Influence of International Conventions, National and ECHR Jurisprudence

Abstract

The legal institution regulated by art. 505-507 of the Criminal Procedure Code represents the last step of the complex of procedural guarantees subsumed by the notion of purpose of the criminal trial. The entire regulation in criminal procedural matters has in mind this axis, of finding out the truth, in the event that the mentioned finality would not be achieved by resorting to the procedural remedy of the ordinary and extraordinary appeals, so that, in the end, the court decision, once definitive, is considered the expression of the truth (res judicato pro veritate habetur). It was noticed, however, that the elimination of errors by means of the above-mentioned procedure does not always lead to the removal of all the consequences of an unjust act of justice, due to the consequences they generate, specifically, for on the person who was previously subjected to judgment. As a result, the legal provisions regarding the reparation of damage in case of false conviction or ilegal arrest are emerging as a complementary institution to the criminal process, necessary for the execution of justice and the restoration of the legal order.