Bosnia and Herzegovina

Criminal Procedure Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

PART ONE - BASIC PROVISIONS

CHAPTER I - BASIC PRINCIPLES

Article 5 -Rights of a Person Deprived of Liberty

A person deprived of liberty must, in his native tongue or any other language that he understands, be immediately informed about the reasons for his apprehension and instructed on the fact that he is not bound to make a statement or answer questions, on his right to a defense attorney of his own choice as well as on the right that his family, consular officer of the foreign state whose citizen he is, or another person designated by him be informed about his deprivation of liberty.

A person deprived of liberty shall be appointed a defense attorney upon his request if according to his financial status he cannot bear the expenses of his defense.

Article 6 - Rights of a Suspect or Accused

The suspect, at his first questioning, must be informed about the offense that he is charged with and grounds for suspicion against him and that his statement may be used as evidence in further proceedings.

The suspect or accused must be provided with an opportunity to make a statement regarding all the facts and evidence incriminating him and to present all facts and evidence in his favor.

The suspect or accused shall not be bound to present his defense or to answer questions posed to him.

Article 7 - Right to a Defense

The suspect or accused has a right to present his own defense or to defend himself with the professional assistance of a defense attorney of his own choice.

If the suspect or accused does not retain a defense attorney, a defense attorney shall be appointed to him as stipulated by this Code.

The suspect or accused must be given sufficient time to prepare a defense.

Article 8 - Language and Alphabet

The official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina - the Bosnian language, the Croat language and the Serb language and both alphabets of Latin and Cyrillic, shall be in equal official use in criminal proceedings.

Parties, witnesses and other participants in the proceedings shall have the right to use their native language or a language they understand in the course of the proceedings. If such a participant does not understand one of the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina, provisions shall be made for oral interpretation of the testimony of that person and other persons, as well as the interpretation of official documents and other written pieces of evidence.

Any above-referenced individual shall be informed of the rights referred to in Paragraph 2 of this Article prior to the first questioning and may waive such right if he knows the language in which the proceedings are being conducted. A note shall be made in the record that the participant has been so informed, and his response thereto shall also be noted.

Interpretation shall be performed by a Court interpreter.

Keywords

Fair trial standards



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