What are preliminary investigations and how do they conclude?
Preliminary investigations constitute the initial phase of any criminal proceeding. During this phase, the prosecuting authority collects evidence to determine the validity of the reported crime (which may be acquired ex officio, i.e., on its own initiative, or following a report, complaint, or accusation).
Throughout the investigations (which vary in duration depending on the type of crime alleged), numerous checks are conducted using various means of evidence collection (inspections, searches, seizures, wiretaps), as well as through surveillance, interviews with informed individuals, and generally any activities deemed useful for clarifying the events.
At the end of the investigation phase (which is characterized by absolute secrecy, to the extent that it is usually unknown to the person being investigated, Click HERE to read the article “Is it possible to be under investigation without knowing it?”), the Public Prosecutor will either request the case to be archived (if the results convince them of the unfounded nature of the crime report) or initiate criminal proceedings (if they find the report to be founded).
The initiation of proceedings will occur in different ways depending on whether the legal prerequisites are met at that time: ordinarily, a notice of the conclusion of the investigation will be issued (for more details click HERE), followed by a request for a trial or a direct summons before a third-party, impartial judge (unless the Public Prosecutor, having reviewed any documents subsequently submitted by the defense, reconsider late and requests the case to be archived); or the request and subsequent issuance of a penal decree; a request for “plea bargaining”; a request and subsequent scheduling of an immediate trial; or the conduct of an “accelerated trial”.
Each of these procedural developments (alongside “giudizio abbreviato” and suspension of the proceedings with probation, which, unlike the former, require an explicit request from the defendant) involves delicate defensive evaluations. Therefore, it is highly advisable to promptly establish a professional relationship between the defendant and their attorney, to whom one should swiftly turn for assistance.
Founding Attorney
Jacopo Antonio Ahmad
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