Principles of criminal law in proceedings on administrative transgressions

RESUMÉ Petra Lomozová: Principles of Criminal Justice in the Proceedings on Minor Offences This paper addresses to basic principles of criminal proceedings as expressed in § 2 of the Czech Code of Criminal Procedure. It seeks to find out the scope in which these principles apply to the proceedings ruled by the Act on Minor Offences, which is part of Czech aministrative law. The distinction between criminal offences and administrative offences has a long tradition in Czech and Austrian law. The criminal offences are essentially part of criminal law and underlie the jurisdiction of courts, while the proceedings on administrative offences, including the minor offences, are led by public authorities. However, this distinction doesn't rely upon firm and definite theoretical foundations and is managed differently in different European countries. That's why the Czech courts use to emphasize, that the basic principles, which apply to criminal proceedings, should also be applicable to proceedings on administrative offences. The question is treated with regard to Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This Article guarantees the right to a fair hearing to everyone charged with a criminal offence. "Charge" as well as "criminal offence" have to be understood in their autonomous meaning which differ from..