Supreme Court Prohibits Case Reviews of Pretrial Decisions

The Supreme Court has issued Regulation No. 4 of 2016 on the Prohibition of Case Reviews of Pretrial Decisions (“2016 Regulation”).In essence, the 2016 Regulation affirms that no legal action can be taken against pretrial decisions, including attempts to file applications for case reviews with the Supreme Court. In addition, the 2016 Regulation also sets out a number of new matters which can be heard at pretrial hearings, pursuant to Constitutional Court Decision No. 21/PUU-XII/2014 , that broadens the ambit of pretrial procedures. [1] Prior to the issuance of the 2016 Regulation, case reviews of pretrial decisions were allowed in limited circumstances by Supreme Court Circular Letter No. 4 of 2014 on the Implementation of Decisions from the 2013 Supreme Court Plenum as Guidance for Courts (“2014 Circular Letter”).The 2016 Regulation is of relevance to law practitioners and to the public in general.Pretrial ObjectsIn the criminal-justice system, a pretrial differs from a trial. A trial can be defined simply as a set of actions undertaken in an attempt to prove the guilt of a suspect/defendant before a court. A pretrial, on the other hand, is a hearing which is held in order to examine the following matters: [2]