Constitutional Court Broadens Ambit of Pretrial Procedures

The Constitutional Court (“Court”) recently handed down  Decision No. 21/PUU-XII/2014 (“Decision”) on its review of Articles 1 (2), 1 (14), 17, 21 (1), 77 (a), and 156 (2) of Law No. No. 8 of 1981 on Criminal Procedural Law (“KUHAP”).

In essence, the Decision declares that the act of investigators, including the naming of a person as a suspect and searching and seizing evidence in criminal cases can be challenged at a pretrial. Prior to the Decision, the KUHAP did not allow these actions to be challenged as such. Additionally, the Court also redefined the standard of evidence that must be established by an investigator to name a person as a suspect.