Kardomųjų priemonių sistema baudžiamajame procese: lyginamasis aspektas

Abstract

Constitution provides inviolability of human rights and freedoms as fundamental value of modern civilization. Human rights and freedoms, however, should not be treated as absolute or immovable category. What should be realized and always emphasized is that any person has not only rights, but also obligations, which means that interests of individual can be lawfully defended only with due regard to the relevant rights of another person. If someone fails to respect and violates human rights of another person, then he renounces relevant part of his rights. And this may become a legitimate ground for restriction of the rights of offender. This paper doesn’t refer to restriction of human rights as a result of the effective judgment of conviction, but to situations, where the person is in detention, under arrest or his other rights are restricted because of being reasonably suspected of the criminal offence or there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person who committed criminal offence might flee or impede investigation, i.e. refers to measures of compulsion exercised by the State. One of such measures of compulsion are measures of constraint. This is the strictest form of compulsion exercised by the State in respect of individual, on whom punishment has not yet been imposed. This paper doesn’t make any detailed analysis of the grounds for or procedure of infliction thereof, as they are thoroughly and clearly regulated by the law on criminal procedure. This paper seeks disclosure of problematic issues concerning separate measures of constraint applicable in the Republic of Lithuania, as well as to discuss those issues and possibly find certain solutions. Analysis was conducted by comparing measures of constraint applicable in Lithuania with those applicable in other countries. This paper has theoretical, practical as well as cognitive importance. Officers who apply measures of constraint must have perfect theoretical and practical knowledge of the application of such measures in order to prevent ungrounded and unlawful application thereof. It should also be noted that each individual having acknowledged him self with measures of constraint, also with grounds for application and control mechanism thereof, would know how to defend him self against ungrounded and unlawful restriction of their rights. This paper gives its greatest attention to measures of constraint that restrict physical freedom of a person, i.e. arrest and home arrest, because these are the strictest measures and application thereof creates majority of problems and discussions. Other constraint measures are not thoroughly covered in this paper, but certain defects in their application and control are disclosed.