Viktor Bérces: Evidence in Criminal Proceedings
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Chapter X. The possibilities of excluding evidence and the conditions for indictment at the prosecution (intermediate) stage
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10.5. The indictment. Who is entitled to prosecute and what are the charging documents?

10.5. The indictment. Who is entitled to prosecute and what are the charging documents?

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

The indictment is a traditional, classical procedural act of the prosecution phase, which – due to its regulation at the level of the Constitution1 – should continue to be regarded as the general rule. It should be noted that, according to judicial practice, a fundamental condition for a fair trial at this stage is that the accused should be able to acquaint himself with all the evidence against him. 2

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

The accusation may include not only the prosecution’s case (indictment; summary record3), but also other documents (the private accuser’s complaint and the written statement or indictment of the substitute private accuser). These charging documents should be equally subject to the considerations of the legality of the accusation and the principle of the prosecution’s liability.4 While the vast majority of court proceedings are, of course, based on the prosecutor’s indictment, the legal instruments of private prosecution and private surrogate prosecution should also be briefly mentioned:

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

  1. In the case of a private prosecution – the offence in question (light assault, invasion of privacy, invasion of correspondence, defamation, libel, defamation, libel, defamation of a person’s honour or making a false audio or video recording5), the law gives the victim the right to decide on the prosecution, with the prosecutor being allowed to represent the accused once during the proceedings, as a rule.6 In these proceedings, the prosecution is based on the victim’s complaint, which includes the private prosecution previously lodged. If the victim makes a complaint, he or she also has the rights of representation as a private prosecutor.7
  2. In the case of a substitute private prosecution, the victim represents the prosecution in a public prosecution, but this right of accusation is not original, unlike a private prosecution, but derivative. It requires that the prosecutor or the investigating authority has previously acted on the case and either (1) dismissed the complaint, (2) terminated the proceedings, or (3) the prosecution has dropped the charges.8 It should be noted that legal representation is mandatory in supplementary private prosecution proceedings, and therefore the charging documents do not normally raise formal or substantive concerns about the legality criteria.
 

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

On the basis of the above, it can be concluded that the scope of evidence taken in court proceedings is not only defined by documents containing public charges – presented by the prosecutor – but also by documents containing private charges or substitute private charges. According to Csák, the maintenance of this “triumvirate” of persons entitled to bring charges contributes greatly to the discovery of substantive justice and to the enhancement of victims’ rights.9

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

I note that the principle of indictment does not require full historical identity between the facts of the indictment and the facts of the conviction for either document. Since the court must continue to seek to clarify the facts of the case in a complete and truthful manner, the facts of the conviction may differ from the facts of the case in several respects, such as the place, time, manner, means, motive and result of the offence, without this being contrary to the principle of indictment, in relation to the result of the evidence.10

10.5.1. Conditions for the legality of the accusation

10.5.2. Consequences of the absence of a statutory charge

10.5.3. On prosecution in general. The problem of “prosecutorial certainty”

10.5.4. Legality and unfoundedness of the prosecution’s case

10.5.5. The indictment

10.5.6. Special cases of prosecution I: the prosecutorial phase of the settlement procedure

10.5.7. Special cases of prosecution II: the prosecution phase of the trial

1 Prosecutors’ offices represent the public prosecution in court proceedings. Fundamental Law, Article 29(2).
2 BH 1993/9. 716. In Czine–Szabó–Villányi–Baka (2008) ibid. 297.
3 E.g. in case of prosecution.
4 The adjudicating forum may only decide on the criminal liability of the person named as accused in the charge sheet and may only judge the act that is contained in the charge [Article (3)(b) of the Criminal Code].
5 CPC § 53 (1) para.
6 CPC § 764 (2) para.
7 CPC § 762 (3) para.
8 CPC § 787 (2)
9 Zsolt Csák: Találgatható -e a jogalkotó akarata? Gondolatok a pótmagánvád köréből. [Can the will of the legislator be guessed? Reflections from the field of substitute private prosecution.] In Ervin Belovics–Erzsébet Tamási–Zoltán Varga (eds.): Örökség és büntetőjog. [Heritage and criminal law.] Budapest, PKKE JÁK, 2011. 125.
10 EBH 2005.1199.
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