Law No.1.533 of 9 December 2022: preliminary investigation, alternative measures to prosecution, police custody, free hearing
19.12.2022
Criminal Procedure
Law No. 1.533 of 9 December 2022 on the preliminary investigation and alternative measures to prosecution (JDM No. 8621 of 16 December 2022) is the result of Bill No. 1030 received by the Parliament on 9 April 2021 and voted during the Public Session of 30 November 2022.
It modernises criminal proceedings by adapting them to changes in society, “by strengthening the tools available to the judiciary and the police to prosecute offences” while “guaranteeing the rights of defendants”(Legislation Committee, Report on Bill No. 1030, 28 November 2022, p. 1).
Law no. 1.533 clarifies and improves the existing provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure concerning alternative measures to prosecution, police custody and free hearings (contributions of the Legislation Committee), and the preliminary investigation (the most substantial reform).
The entry into force is set for either 1 May 2023 or 1 March 2023. The transitional provisions specify the modalities of application, on a case-by-case basis.
SUMMARY:
The notable contributions of Law No. 1.533 are as follows:
• Introduction of alternative measures to prosecution (known as “third way”) for offences (directing the offender to a health, social or professional structure, penal mediation, removal measures, etc.);
• Tinkering with the regime of police custody (guarantees in the event of prolongation, full body search) [contribution of the Legislation Committee];
• Framing of the free hearing (which allows a person suspected of having committed an offence to be questioned without being taken into custody) [contribution of the Legislation Committee];
• Supervision of the preliminary investigation by the judicial police (the first stage of the criminal trial, to be distinguished from the flagrante delicto investigation) [the most substantial contribution of the reform];
• Introduction of the general procedure for additional information (which allows the Court to request additional investigative acts before ruling).
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