Considerations Regarding Criminal Proceedings in the Absence of the Accused in the Case of the Accused’s Death During the Appellate Review.

Abstract

This research consists purposes were 1. to study the important concepts and theories about criminal proceedings in the absence of the accused in the case of the accused’s death during the appellate review 2. to study criminal proceedings in the absence of the accused in the case of the accused’s death during the appellate review in comparison with the laws of other countries 3. to study the problems and impacts on criminal proceedings in the absence of the accused in the case of the accused’s death during the appellate review and 4. to suggest a guideline for developing and amending the law on criminal proceedings in the absence of the accused in the case of the accused’s death during the appellate review. is a qualitative research which will study from various related documents such as books, textbooks, thesis, academic articles, research papers, laws and judgments of foreign countries. Supreme Court verdict and information on the Internet, both in Thailand and abroad, etc., and then use the information gathered from various relevant documents to content analysis. The results of this Independent Study show that: 1) according to the important concepts and theories, the law recognizes that the trial must be conducted in the presence of the accused and that the accused’s death extinguishes the entire criminal proceedings, including the case of the accused’s death during the appellate review 2) similar to Thailand, the laws of other countries apply the doctrine of extinguishment of criminal cases in the case of the accused's death during the appellate review 3) extinguishment of criminal cases in the case of the accused's death during the appellate review prevents the high court from reviewing the lower court's judgement. The case is therefore not final; verification of the verity of the case cannot be achieved; and the accused also benefits from the legal presumption of innocence until a final judgment has been made by the court, affecting the plaintiff or the victim, the accused, as well as the state, which is responsible for the criminal justice system and 4) It is thus advisable that Section 39 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code be amended, whereby the right to institute a criminal prosecution is extinguished by the death of the offender, except in the case in which the accused has died during the appellate review, in which case the court shall have the power to proceed further with the review and to render judgment, in which case the court’s judgment shall be deemed final.