Lesson #GP17: Criminal procedure

The Code of Criminal Procedure contains amongst others the law provisions regulating the main tasks of Public Prosecutor, Pre-trial Judge, Judicial Police and Police. It is a very important instrument for the police since it explains the procedure to follow when investigating crimes, performing arrest of persons and searching dwellings and persons. In cases when these tasks are not performed in accordance with the applicable legal standards, they might constitute a violation of human rights and violation of applicable legal provisions in Kosovo.

Penal procedure is a body of law provisions regulating the investigation into whether a person has violated criminal law. The Penal Procedure Code of Kosovo regulates and governs:

• The jurisdiction , i.e. the scope of applicability and competencies of the courts;
• The roles and functions of the pre-trial Judge and competent Public prosecutor;
• the Criminal Proceedings
• arrest and detention
• charging
• the trial of accused criminals;
• the sentencing of those convicted (found guilty of a crime)
• the convicted person's possible appeal for review of the trial court's decision
• defence counsel and
• special procedures (e.g. for juveniles).

The goal of this lesson is to provide the students with an understanding of the Penal Procedure currently applicable in Kosovo.

At the conclusion of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. List the five (5) different Courts in Kosovo and have an understanding and explanation of their main area of territorial and course competencies as well as their structure according to the lesson.
2. List the responsibilities, power and main competencies of public prosecutor and Pre-trial Judge as described in the lesson.
3. Explain briefly the procedure of reporting crimes and exceptions based on the lesson.
4. List the main duties and general authorisations of law enforcement officials under article 197-207 of Penal Procedure Code of Kosovo as taught in the class.
5. Explain briefly the procedure for the search of Dwellings and persons as described in article 240 and 246 of Penal Procedure Code of Kosovo. Temporary confiscation of articles according to the lesson.
6. Explain briefly the procedure for temporary confiscation of items as described in provisions of article 247 and 253 of Penal Procedure Code of Kosovo.
7. Explain briefly the procedure for submitting the criminal charge and its content as stated in article 197-199 and in article 207 of Penal Procedure Code of Kosovo.
8. Explain briefly the investigation conducted by competent public prosecutor under article 220-225 of Penal Procedure Code of Kosovo as taught in class.
9. List at least three (3) investigative actions during the investigation according to the lesson.
10. List at least three (3) circumstances under which the investigation will end as described in the lesson.