Advice from the Council of State on the new Code of Criminal Procedure

In recent years, work has been done on a new Code of Criminal Procedure because the current code from 1926 is outdated and has become a patchwork after about 150 amendments. The new code is a future-proof code that is accessible to people, provides a balanced system of legal safeguards, and works in practice for the 100,000 professionals in the criminal justice chain. In its advice, the Council of State underscores the importance of a new, modernized, and accessible code. According to the Council, it increases legal certainty and usability.

In the coming period, the extensive advice from the Council will be processed by the Ministry of Justice and Security. The legislative proposal is expected to be ready in the fourth quarter of this year. It will then be submitted to the House of Representatives. At that time, ministers Weerwind (Legal Protection) and Yeşilgöz-Zegerius (Justice and Security) will provide a substantive response to the advice (the so-called follow-up report) and indicate how the advice has been incorporated into the legislative proposal and the explanatory memorandum.

This week, both ministers will send the 7th progress report on the new Code of Criminal Procedure to the House of Representatives and the Senate. It includes a brief summary of the Council of States advice, a planning, and the status of legislative activities, implementation consequences, and the implementation structure.