Baudžiamojo proceso atnaujinimas: samprata ir pagrindinės rūšys

Abstract

The article analyses a new theme, which has not yet been analysed in Lithuanian research. Though it could hardly be stated that a reopening of the criminal proceedings is the most pressing issue to be analysed by the today’s researchers, nevertheless, this form of control over the reasonableness and lawfulness of court judgements must be given theoretical foundation. This is the only way to give essence to the whole system of control over court judgements that exists in the criminal procedure. It must be consistent. It is necessary to prevent one form of control duplicating another or overlapping with it. Meanwhile, reopening of criminal proceedings, included into the system of control over court judgements, offers the last chance to restore justice in a criminal case. The reasonableness of a court judgement and its lawfulness are subjected to review, review is also extended to the final res judicata judgements. Such instances when criminal cases are reopened are not frequent in the court practice; and there is nothing wrong in it – the criminal procedure must be stable. Even though reopening of criminal proceedings is an exceptional possibility, it is noted that over a hundred judgements are reviewed every year because of manifestly improper application of law.
It is described in the article that a reopening of criminal proceedings is an exceptional stage or phase of the criminal procedure, thus eliminating all the ambiguities related with the role of this form of control over court judgements in the procedure. A new approach is applied to the determination of the types of the reopening of criminal proceedings taking in regard the grounds and procedure for the reopening of criminal proceedings that function the criminal procedures of various countries. Apart from the division of grounds into in favorem and in defavorem, no other types of reopening criminal proceedings have yet been determined in any country.
The article reveals features characteristic to all types of the reopening of criminal proceedings, i.e., to reopening of criminal proceedings as a form of control over court judgements.
This form is not compared to cassation or appeal, as the analysis of this aspect will be the subject matter of another articles. Here, the focus was given to the principal aspects of the concept of the reopening of criminal proceedings, as this is a completely new theme.
In current years, the institute of the reopening of criminal proceedings has been given considerable attention in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, therefore the author considerably relies on the attitudes of this Court.