SUSPECT’S RIGHT TO INFORMATION AFTER THE AMENDMENT
OF THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
The article discusses the suspect’s right to information in pre-trial proceedings. Although undoubtedlythe judicial proceeding is the crucial part of a criminal trial, the importance of the investigative phase cannot be underestimated. This is mainly due to the fact that the Code of Criminal Procedure does not limit the court in basing its judgement on evidence gathered during investigation.
For that reason guaranteeing the suspect the right to information at the initial stage of the proceedings is very important from the point of view of effective defence. The authors present and critically assess recent changes in the Code of Criminal Procedure, which entered into force on 1st July 2015 as a part of far-going amendments maximalising the adversariality of a criminal trial in Poland. The article aims to establish whether the above-mentioned amendments guarantee that the suspect receives clear, adequate and comprehensive information about his rights and duties in preliminary proceedings. The authors’ evaluation is generally positive. Nonetheless, they identify several important flaws in the amended provisions concerning the adequacy of provided information that should be eliminated.