Promoting the defence´s role in the preliminary investigation, a challenge in maghrebian criminal proceedings

Abstract

Maghrebian criminal procedures have long been based on a theory inherited from French legislation, based on the relationship between the effectiveness of police investigations and the weakening of the role of the lawyer, relying on the principles of the inquisitorial system, in particular the principle of secrecy that governs the entire preliminary phase of the trial. Through this article, the authors attempt to refute the latter theory, proving that any strengthening of the role of the lawyer during the preliminary investigation constitutes a deterrent and protection of the authorities against allegations of torture and ill-treatment, and a decisive means to guarantee the protection of the rights of the accused, and therefore, a contribution to the consecration of the efficiency of the investigations and the procedural fairness.