Code of Criminal Procedure of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1921) (excerpts related to Judicial and Prosecution Systems) (English)
[excerpts]
Code of Criminal Procedure
into force on 15th January 1921
Art. 29.
1. Should one be interrogated in the capacity of a witness, the examining judge or other officer shall refrain from whatsoever that would serve any other goal than the acquisition of testimonies; it is not ascertained that the evidence was given; it is not ascertained that the evidence was given freely. Suspect is not obliged to give answers.
2. Prior to testifying, the suspect has been instructed that he or she is under no obligation to answer the questions.
3. The evidence given by a suspect, and especially the evidence containing the plea of guilty, are quoted in their original wording in the minutes of the interrogation. The instruction mentioned in point 2 is also covered in the minutes.
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Art. 56.
1. The prosecutor or the auxiliary prosecutor who the suspect has been brought to face or who apprehended the suspect himself or herself, may – faced with the charges of committing criminal offences – order the searching of the suspect.
2. Faced with the charges of committing criminal offences, the prosecutor may order a body search.
For the purpose of the above, body search denotes the searching of orifices and depressions in the lower abdomen, subjecting the suspect to X-rays, ultrasonography and manual search of the body’s orifices and depressions. Persons entitled to perform body searches are physicians. Body search may not be carried due to important health-related reasons that disallow such a practice.
3. The actions mentioned in points 1 and 2 above and concerning personal searches should be performed in a locked room, and if only possibly, by a person of the same sex.
4. Other law enforcement officers are authorised to search the suspects clothes on apprehension.
5. During the investigation procedures, the provisions of the Article 195 is applicable.
Art. 57.
1. The prosecutor or the auxiliary prosecutor who the suspect has been brought to face or who apprehended the suspect himself or herself, may – having interrogated the suspect and bearing in mind the interest of the case – insist that the suspect is detained for the time of the court proceedings in a definite place so as to leave him at the disposal of the law.
2. While being interrogated, the suspect retains the right to assistance of a lawyer. For this matter, the last point of the Art. 24 is applicable.
3. The prosecutor or the auxiliary prosecutor who issues the arrest warrant makes minutes from the interrogation of the suspect. The minutes should be appended to the case file.
4. The auxiliary prosecutor should immediately notify the prosecutor of issuing an arrest warrant.
5. The prosecutor shall issue an order for releasing the suspect as soon as proceedings shall allow for this.
Art. 58.
1. The arrest warrant is issued only in case of criminal offences, in case of which temporary detention is permissible.
2. The arrest warrant is issued only for the period of three days, and in justified cases it can be extended once by the prosecutor for the maximum period of another three days.
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Art. 61.
1. Should the suspect be detained against the provisions of the Article 57 and also against the provisions of the Article 60, he or she should be set free when taken to the investigating judge, unless he or she has been detained for the period of six hours by the warrant of the prosecutor or auxiliary prosecutor who the suspect has been brought to face or who apprehended the suspect himself or herself to conduct the proceedings. During the arrestment, the suspect is interrogated.
2. Should the arrestment be used to determine the identity of the person arrested, when no temporary detention, as mentioned in point 1, may be applied, and the said person may only be detained for the period of six hours, the prosecutor or auxiliary prosecutor who the suspect has been brought to face or who apprehended the suspect himself or herself may one time extend the period by another six hours.
3. For the purpose of calculation of the time mentioned in the points 1 and 2, the hours between midnight and nine o’clock in the morning are to be disregarded.
4. The extension of the warrant should be dated and signed.
5. The warrant should contain a brief description concerning criminal offences whose committing is suspected, together with the statement of the facts and circumstances that are the basis for the suspicion.
6. The suspect should be defined in the warrant by the first and last name; should these remain unknown, he or she is to be described in another manner. The suspect should be handed a copy of the warrant.
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Art. 128.
1. Being caught red-handed while committing a criminal offence or immediately after its commitment.
Being caught red-handed is taken into consideration only immediately after the discovery of the criminal offence.
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Art. 136c.
A witness is considered endangered if in respect to the witness a court decision has been issued stating that for the purpose of conducting an interrogation, the identity of the witness cannot be revealed.
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Art. 148.
1. The prosecutor is responsible for the prosecution of criminal offences which he reports to the court at which he acts and the regional courts operating within the jurisdiction of the said court as well as for the prosecution of criminal offences amendable to the jurisdiction of the given court, notifying other courts or regional courts about such proceedings.
2. The prosecutor issues an appropriate decisions [warrants] to other persons [institutions] responsible for conducting investigation.
3. Should prosecution b e conducted by the prosecutor himself or herself, the said prosecutor testifies under oath in respect to the results of his actions in the protocol; at the same time, he or she should present as clearly as possible the grounds for his or her intelligence
Art. 149
Having been informed by law enforcement bodies about a criminal offence committed that he or she shall attend to, the prosecutor will institute the necessary prosecution proceedings and demand, if such shall the conditions be, the launch of an investigation.
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Art. 154.
Furthermore, auxiliary prosecutors of the Public Prosecutor’s Office are authorized to prosecute within the given and defined limits, and within their authorisation:
1. officers of state police forces nominated by the minister of justice and performing tasks entrusted to the police force, and especially police officers;
2. officers of the Royal Border Guard
3. N.C.O.S. of the Royal Border Guard nominated by the minister of justice in consultation with the minister of defence
4. extraordinary state officials for crime prosecution, nominated by the minister of justice