LAW No. 01-080/OF 20th AUGUST 2001 ON THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE The National Assembly deliberated and adopted, during its session on 29th June 2001 The President of the Republic promulgates the following law PART ONE: PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS ART 1: Criminal procedure must be fair, with all parties duly heard, and must preserve a balance between the rights of the parties. It must guarantee a separation between authorities responsible for prosecuting and those responsible for judging. Persons who find themselves in a similar situation and prosecuted for the same offences must be judged according to the same rules. ART 2: Every person suspected or prosecuted shall be presumed innocent as long as his/her guilt has not been established. Violation of his/her presumption of innocence shall be proscribed, compensated and punished under conditions laid down by law. He/she shall have the right to be informed of charges brought against him/her and to be assisted by a lawyer. The coercive measures to which such a person may be subjected shall be decided by or taken under the effective control of a judicial authority. They must be strictly limited to the needs of the procedure, proportionate to the gravity of the offence charged and should not violate the human dignity of the person. Charges or accusations against a person must be brought to final judgement within a reasonable time. Every convicted person shall have the right to have his/her conviction exa mined by another court. CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS AND CIVIL PROCEEDINGS ART 3 Criminal proceedings for the imposition of penalties shall be initiated and exercised by the magistrates or civil servants entrusted with this task by law. Criminal proceedings may also be initiated by the aggrieved party under the conditions determined by this Code. ART 4: Civil proceedings, aimed at awarding compensation for damage suffered due to a felony, a misdemeanour or a simple offence, shall be open to all those who have personally suffered damage caused directly by the offence. Waiver of a civil proceeding may not interrupt or suspend the initiation of criminal proceedings, subject to the cases set out under Article 8 Paragraph 2. ART 5: A civil proceeding may be brought at the same time as the criminal proceeding and before the 2