CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Criminal Procedure - Primary Considerations CRIMINAL PROCEDURE defined: Is concerned with the procedural steps through

h which a criminal case passes, commencing with the initial investigation of a crime and concluding with the unconditional release of the offender. It is the procedural administration of criminal justice. The method prescribed by law for the apprehension and prosecution of persons accused of any criminal offense and for their punishment in case of conviction. SOURCES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: Rules of Court January 1, 1964 Revised by the Rules of Court Revision Committee November 2, 1984 Was amended on October 1, 1988 On October 3, 2000 in an en banc res it was revised and took effect on December 1, 2000 1987 Constitution Bill of Rights Various acts of the legislature BP 129 Presidential Decrees Executive Orders Decisions of the Supreme Court CRIMINAL LAW vs CRIMINAL PROCEDURE the former is substantive while the latter is procedural. the former declares what acts are punishable while the latter declares how they are punished. SYSTEMS OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: 1. INQUISITORIAL SYSTEM Wholly in the hands of the prosecuting officer and the court and it is characterized by secrecy. Presence before the magistrate is not a requirement. 2. ACCUSATORIAL SYSTEM Requires all crimes to be prosecuted by a public prosecutor EXCEPT the socalled private offenses which must be commenced by a complaint of the offended party.

The accused has the right to be present at any stage of the proceedings and to be heard personally or by counsel. Right to appeal is a characteristic of this system (although the judgment of the trial court does not require imprimatur of the court of the last resort before it may attain finality). ESSENCE: There must be a moral certainty of guilt to defeat the constitutional presumption of innocence.

3. MIXED SYSTEM It contemplates two contending parties before the court, which hears them impartially and renders judgment only after trial. The preliminary examination conducted by the judge before he issues the warrant of arrest is an aspect of the inquisitional system. The right to be present in any stage of the proceedings and defend himself in person, to be exempt from being a witness against himself during the trial is the feature of the accusatorial system. JURISDICTION defined: Juris and dico : I speak by the law Power or the capacity given by the law to a court or tribunal to entertain, hear, and determine certain controversies. It is the authority to hear and determine a cause. It is vested in the Court not in the judges. The Court has no jurisdiction to punish contemptuous conduct committed against another court. DISTINGUISHED FROM VENUE: The particular country, or geographical area in which a court with jurisdiction may hear and determine a case. Venue deals with the locality, the place where the suit may be had, while jurisdiction treats of the power of the court to decide the case on the merits. Venue is procedural, while jurisdiction is substantive. Civil cases: venue can be waived or be the subject of an agreement

Criminal cases: venue cannot be so waived or stipulated upon because it is an element of jurisdiction.

WHERE JURISDICTION ATTACHES: It must be made to appear that the law has given the tribunal capacity to entertain the complaint against the person or thing sought to be charged or affected. That such complaint has actually been preferred That such person or thing has been properly brought before the tribunal to answer the charge therein contained. EXERCISE OF JURISDICTION: