Abstract

The institute of reviewing a criminal decision constitutes an extraordinary procedural tool, through which the reopening of a criminal process concluded with a final decision is allowed, in cases expressly provided for by the criminal procedural legislation. The practical application of this institute has sparked important debates regarding the procedural position of the applicant in the review trial in cases of trial in their absence, “in absentia” according to Article 352 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Albania. For a long period, despite the legal amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure undertaken in this field by law no. 35/2017, the applicant continued to be treated as a convicted person, without fully benefiting from the procedural rights and guarantees that the criminal procedural legislation grants to the parties during the retrial.

This paper aims to analyze the institution of reviewing criminal decisions in the Republic of Albania, with a special focus on the procedural position of the applicant, the evolution of the legal framework, and the latest developments in judicial practice. In this regard, special importance is given to the unifying stance of jurisprudence, which has accepted that, after the acceptance of the request for review in cases provided for in Article 450, paragraph 1, letters “d”, “dh”, “e” of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the applicant must be treated with the procedural status of accused, enjoying all the procedural rights and guarantees recognized by the criminal procedural legislation for this status.

Although the unification of judicial practice represents an important development in guaranteeing the procedural rights of the applicant, it remains necessary that this standard be explicitly reflected in the criminal procedural legislation as well. For this reason, at the conclusion of the work, concrete conclusions and recommendations are presented, aimed at improving and updating the provisions regulating the institute of review of criminal decisions, aiming to increase legal certainty and ensure their uniform application in judicial practice.

Field of study: Criminal Procedural Law (Criminal Procedure)

Keywords: review of the criminal decision; extraordinary means of appeal; final decision; procedural position of the applicant; status of the defendant; trial in absentia; retrial; error of fact; error of law; procedural guarantees; due process; jurisprudence; Republic of Albania.