Abstract
The draft of the new Czech Criminal Procedure Code of 2022 envisages an extension of the appellate principle for appeals against judgments of the court of first instance. In particular, it is proposed that the Court of Appeal may itself find the accused guilty of the offence for which he was acquitted by the contested judgment, or find the accused guilty of a more serious offence than the one of which he could have been found guilty by the court of first instance in the contested judgment, provided that the Court of Appeal retakes or completes the evidence to the necessary extent.The author criticises this legislative proposal, which represents a substantial extension of the appellate principle in the Court of Appeal and a factual transfer of the role of the court of first instance to the Court of Appeal.
He gives reasons why the proposal should not be adopted. In the author's view, the focus on evidence and decision-making should be with the court of first instance.
The proposed amendment, if adopted, would significantly curtail the rights of the defence, effectively reduce the importance of the court of first instance, increase the pressure to create a third instance, increase the length of the entire criminal proceedings and increase the costs of criminal proceedings