THE JUDGE AS AN IMPARTIAL SUBJECT IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS: THE CASE OF LITHUANIA Cover Image

THE JUDGE AS AN IMPARTIAL SUBJECT IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS: THE CASE OF LITHUANIA
THE JUDGE AS AN IMPARTIAL SUBJECT IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS: THE CASE OF LITHUANIA

Author(s): Rasa Žibaitė-Neliubšienė
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Criminal Law
Published by: Mykolas Romeris University
Keywords: judge; impartial proceedings; independence of the judge; system of guarantees;

Summary/Abstract: This article analyses the judge's role as an impartial subject in criminal proceedings. Lithuania's legal system belongs to the Romano-Germanic system characterised by the inquisitorial model of criminal process. However, the prevailing constitutional doctrine that separates the procedural functions of criminal procedure and jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court obliges the judge to seek to establish the strict truth by giving him/her a procedural tool – namely, an obligation to be active and act impartially. To reduce the possible misuse of judicial discretion, the law establishes the factors that limit it and ensure impartiality, including imperative procedural rules, the obligation of motivation for a judgment, the instance system of courts, and the system of guarantees ensuring the judge's independence.

  • Issue Year: 5/2019
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 87-107
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: English
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