As part of the public debate on the draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, which was held on September 10 until 1.10.2025, the AWC submitted its comments and proposals to the Ministry of Justice, among which the most important are those concerning the opposition to the proposals that collapse the achieved level of rights of victims in general as well as especially sensitive victims, the concept of prosecutorial investigation and the prosecution as a prosecuting authority, and the defendants are given greater rights in the procedure than the Prosecutors have.

Although the Ministry of Justice stated that changes are proposed to harmonize the criminal procedure legislation with Directive 2012/29/EU on the establishment of minimum standards for the rights, support and protection of victims of criminal acts, the AWC believes that the proposed changes to Art. 50 envisaged modest and often, limited by the interests of the procedure, improvements in the rights of the injured party.

It was also omitted to comply with Chapter 3 of Directive 2024/1385/EU dated May 14, 2024 on the fight against violence against women and domestic violence.

It is disappointing that the injured parties, even in this Draft Law, were not given the right to appeal the acquittal, as well as many other rights, in which way the injured party still remains the object of evidence in criminal proceedings and not the subject of the right to protection.

AWC also pointed out as particularly disputable that the newly proposed provision of para. 3 art. 283a of the CPC, which concerns the exception in the allocation of funds collected through the Institute of Deferral of Criminal Prosecution. If adopted, the proposed exemptions will allow the existence of impermissible influences on the decisions of the Commission on the allocation of funds based on opportunities.

You can read the comments and proposals of the AWC on the draft Law on Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure HERE.