Part One
GENERAL PART
Chapter VII
EVIDENCE
2. Evidentiary Actions
a) Interrogation of the Defendant
Preconditions for the Interrogation of the Defendant
Article 85
When a defendant is being interrogated for the first time, he will be asked to state his first name and surname, his personal ID number, or the number of a personal document, nickname, the first names and surnames of his parents, his mother’s maiden name, his place of birth, his residence, date of birth, citizenship, occupation, family circumstances, literacy status, professional qualifications, his and his family's financial standing, whether he was ever convicted of any offence, when and which offence, whether he served any sanction pronounced against him, and whether proceedings are being conducted against him in connection with another criminal offence.
The defendant will be advised of the rights referred to in Article 68 paragraph 1 of this Code and enabled to exercise them, and also be cautioned about his duties (Article 70) and the consequences of not obeying them.
The defendant will then be invited to state expressly whether he will retain a defence counsel of his own choosing, and cautioned that if he does not choose a defence counsel in the case of mandatory defence a court appointed defence counsel will be appointed, in accordance with the provisions of this Code.
The defendant may be interrogated without a defence counsel being present if the defendant has expressly waived that right, if a duly summoned defence counsel is not present although he has been informed about the interrogation (Article 300 paragraph 1.) and there exists no possibility for the defendant to hire another defence counsel, or if the defendant has failed to secure the presence of a defence counsel even after the expiry of a period of 24 hours after first being advised about that right (Article 68 paragraph 1 item 4)), except in the case of mandatory defence.
If the defendant has not been duly advised or enabled to use the rights referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, or the statement of the defendant referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article about the presence of a defence counsel has not been entered into record, or where it was acted contrary to paragraph 4 of this Article, or where a statement of the defendant has been obtained contrary to Article 9 of this Code, the court’s decision may not be based on the defendant’s statement.
Rules of Interrogating Defendants
Article 86
A defendant is interrogated orally, with decency and full respect for his personality. A defendant is entitled to use his notes during interrogation.
During the interrogation it will be made possible to the defendant to state, without being interrupted, his position in relation to all circumstances against him and facts which support his defence.
After a defendant has completed his statement, and it is necessary to fill in gaps in the statement or clarify it, he will be asked questions which must be clear, unambiguous and understandable, which may not contain deception or be based on an assumption that he has admitted to something which he has not admitted, and the questions may not be leading.
Where the defendant’s subsequent statements differ from those given previously, and especially if the defendant recants his confession, the authority conducting proceedings may invite him to explain why he had made differing statements or why he had recanted his confession.
Interrogation through an Interpreter or Translator
Article 87
If a defendant is deaf, he will be questioned in writing, if the defendant is mute, he will be invited to reply in writing and if he is blind, the contents of written evidence will be presented to him orally. If the interrogation cannot be conducted in this manner, a person capable of communicating with the defendant will be invited to serve as an interpreter.
If the defendant does not understand the language of the proceedings, he will be asked questions through a translator.
If the interpreter or translator was has not been sworn in previously, he will swear that he will faithfully communicate the questions asked of the defendant and the statements he makes.
The provisions of this Code relating to expert witnesses apply accordingly to interpreters and translators.
Confession of the Defendant
Article 88
When a defendant confesses to having committed a criminal offence, the authority conducting proceedings is required to continue collecting evidence about the perpetrator and the criminal offence only where there exists grounded suspicion about the veracity of the confession or if the confession is incomplete, contradictory or unclear and contrary to other evidence.
Confronting the Defendant
Article 89
A defendant may be confronted with a witness or other defendant, if their statements do not match in respect of facts which are being proved.
The persons confronting each other are placed facing each other and are asked by the authority conducting proceedings to repeat to each other the statements about every disputed circumstance and to discuss the veracity of their statements. The course of the confrontation and statements made by the confronted persons will be entered into record by the authority conducting the proceedings.
Recognition of Persons or Objects
Article 90
If is is necessary to establish whether a defendant recognises a certain person or object, or the characteristics of it as described by him, he will be shown that person or object together with other persons not known to him or objects whose basic characteristics are similar to those he has described.
The defendant will then be asked to state whether he can recognise that person or object with full certainty or with a degree of certainty, and, if so, to point to the person or object thus recognised.
If the person or object referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is not accessible, the defendant may be shown a photograph of the person or object together with other photographs of persons unknown to him or objects whose basic characteristics are similar to those he has described.
In accordance with the provisions from paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Article, recognition of a person may also be performed on the basis of his voice.
Other forms of cooperation
Questioning of persons - national proceedings
EDIT.