THE JUDGE AS AN IMPARTIAL SUBJECT IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS: THE CASE OF LITHUANIA

Abstract

This article analyses the judge's role as an impartial subject in criminal proceedings. Lithuania's legal system belongs to the Romano-Germanic system characterised by the inquisitorial model of criminal process. However, the prevailing constitutional doctrine that separates the procedural functions of criminal procedure and jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court obliges the judge to seek to establish the strict truth by giving him/her a procedural tool – namely, an obligation to be active and act impartially. To reduce the possible misuse of judicial discretion, the law establishes the factors that limit it and ensure impartiality, including imperative procedural rules, the obligation of motivation for a judgment, the instance system of courts, and the system of guarantees ensuring the judge's independence.