The Acquittal and Its Content
Under the Criminal Procedure Code, an acquittal means the failure to prove the charge brought against the accused. The second part of the same norm sets a special qualitative requirement: an acquittal must not contain formulations that exclude the innocence of the acquitted person or are dishonoring to his or her name. This means that a court cannot say "the prosecution was not proven, but he probably did it" — the text of the judgment must not be burdened with assessments incompatible with innocence. The road to proving innocence begins precisely from this standard: when a person is acquitted, the restoration of his or her name is not only a procedural result but also a reputational act. In practice the violation of this norm often appears in the reasoning of the judgment, where the court underlines the suspiciousness of the accusation with superfluous assessments. Challenging and excluding such formulations is one of the tasks of the defence of the acquitted, because the text of the judgment is a public document that accompanies a person's later life for a long time.
Grounds for Review of a Judgment
The Code defines a complete catalogue of grounds for the review of a judgment on newly discovered circumstances. A judgment is reviewed where: a judgment in legal force has established that the evidence on which the judgment under review was based is forged; a circumstance exists attesting the unlawful composition of the court that delivered the judgment or the inadmissibility of the evidence; it has been established that the judge, prosecutor, investigator or juror committed a crime in connection with this case; the Constitutional Court has declared the criminal law applied in this case unconstitutional; the European Court of Human Rights or a respective committee of the United Nations has found a violation of a convention on which the judgment under review rests; a new law has abolished or mitigated liability; a new fact or evidence has been presented that was unknown at the time of the judgment and proves the innocence of the convicted person; likewise the prosecutor's decision on an essential violation of rights or the ruling of the appellate court recognizing a covert investigative action as unlawful. The ground of a new fact or evidence is two-directional: it may prove the innocence of the convicted person or the commission of a lesser crime, but equally the guilt of an acquitted person — the instrument of review thus serves both defence and prosecution. The list of grounds is exhaustively defined, and a demand beyond its limits is inadmissible, which makes the selection of the correct ground the threshold of the whole process.
Time Limits for Review
A separate article of the Code governs time limits: the period for the review of a judgment on newly discovered circumstances is unlimited, except for the grounds resting on international decisions. Where the application relies on a decision of the European Court of Human Rights or of a respective committee, the application must be made within 1 year of the entry into force of the decision or of its adoption. This means that where a new fact or forged evidence is involved, time does not limit the demand, while in the case of an international decision the one-year period is critical and must be calculated precisely.
The Court Session and the Decision
According to the procedural norms, the substantive examination of the case takes place in the appellate court, under the rules in force at the appellate examination, and the court is entitled to examine the case without an oral hearing. As a result, the court either leaves the judgment unchanged, or amends it, or annuls it and delivers a new one. A cassation appeal is lodged against the judgment of the appellate court, and the court of cassation examines the appeal without checking its admissibility. The process of proving innocence is thus distributed over two instances, and for the claimant the correct argumentation of each stage is decisive — from the choice of the ground to the drafting of the cassation complaint.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an acquittal?
The failure to prove the charge against the accused; its text may not contain formulations excluding the innocence of the acquitted person or dishonoring his or her name.
Is the review period limited?
Generally no — the period is unlimited; only where the application rests on an international decision must it be made within 1 year of its entry into force or adoption.
Which court hears the case of new circumstances?
The appellate court, possibly without an oral hearing; a cassation appeal lies against its judgment, examined without an admissibility check.
What can become a ground for review?
Forged evidence, an unlawful composition, a crime committed in connection with the case by a judge, prosecutor, investigator or juror, a new law, a new fact or evidence and other cases provided for by law.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Proving innocence belongs among the most difficult procedural cases. Our team will study the case file, identify the grounds for review, prepare the demand and represent you in both instances. Contact Legal.ge and we will fight for your name together with you.