Meçe on the new Code: The lawyer gains investigative powers, the prosecutor faces a ‘competitor’

Analyst Arben Meçe commented on the draft law on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, stressing that the draft is currently at the public consultation stage, with a deadline of 29 October.

He described the draft as an important change in the justice system, particularly regarding the role of the lawyer and the gathering of evidence.

According to Meçe, the amendments aim to strengthen the role of the lawyer in criminal proceedings, giving him more powers to carry out verifications and investigations.

He also focused on the role of the judge, stressing that the draft provides for responsibility regarding the way evidence is assessed.

“This is a draft law for public consultation, a one-month deadline has been left. Public consultation runs until 29 October. Secondly, this draft, according to consolidated information, was prepared by Dutch, French and Italian jurists, and at the head of the group is a person who has been mentioned by name, who is a director for human rights. From that moment you understand who prepared this material.

It is a revolution in the justice system. The prosecutor and the lawyer have the same right to gather evidence and both have their own files. Lawyers are receiving the value the law gives them, their right. The judge, by law, is for the first time obliged to draw a conclusion between the evidence; there is a penalty for a judge who does not carry out the act. The lawyer is given the right to carry out investigations himself, to carry out verifications. Prosecutors will have competition facing them. The authority of the lawyer is increased by law.”