criminal procedure

The law of criminal procedure regulates the modes of apprehending, charging, and trying suspected offenders; the imposition of penalties on convicted offenders; and the methods of challenging the legality of conviction after judgment is entered. Litigation in this area frequently deals with conflicts…

…occurs in the course of criminal procedure, the purpose of the restraint is to hold the person for answer to a criminal charge or to prevent him from committing an offense. In civil proceedings, the purpose is to hold the person to a demand made against him.

A major trend in criminal procedure since the early 19th century has been better protection of the rights of the accused. Since 1836 accused persons have been entitled to counsel (see assigned counsel), and since 1898 they have been allowed to testify on their own behalf. In 1903 provision…

…appear in the rules of criminal procedure. In England, this rests on modern legislation. Accused persons may now testify at the trial or not, as they wish; they are entitled to legal counsel; and they are assisted out of public funds when they are accused of serious crimes and are…

Although common-law countries have adopted different arrangements for the conduct and procedure of criminal trials, most of these countries generally follow what is called an adversary procedure, in which allegations are made by the prosecution, resisted by the defendant, and determined by an…

…persons accused of committing a crime, deciding whether they are guilty and, if so, determining the consequences they shall suffer. The prosecution of alleged offenders is generally pursued in the name of the public (e.g., The People v. …), because crimes are considered offenses not just against individual victims but…

If, in a criminal case, the defendant (one charged with a crime) denies committing the acts charged against him, the court must choose between his version of the facts and that presented by the prosecution. If the defendant asserts that his actions did not constitute criminal behaviour, the…

…and has as its corollary criminal procedure, which indicates how the sanctions of criminal law must be applied. Substantive private law, which deals with the relations between private (i.e., nongovernmental) persons, whether individuals or corporate bodies, has as its corollary the rules of civil procedure. Because the object of judicial…

…require only preponderant probability, and criminal cases require probability beyond reasonable doubt. In civil-law countries so much probability is required that reasonable doubts are excluded.

Crimes produce criminal cases, which are officially defined as conflicts between the state or its citizens and the accused (defendant) rather than as conflicts between the victim of the crime and the defendant. Judicial decisions in criminal cases determine whether the accused is guilty or not guilty.…

Criminal procedure was weighted heavily in favour of the state and party. Although the system generally followed the continental European model, which called for extensive preliminary investigation, the investigator in cases of serious crimes was not a judicial official, as in western Europe,…

Although some systems of national law still adhere to the view that ships and aircraft are part of the territory of the state the nationality of which they possess, this is merely a crude metaphor. In international law, a distinction has to be…