The trial stage starts when the court receives your case and continues until the final judgement of the final court instance is taken.
Appeals for decisions and judgements
All decisions and judgements of lower courts can be appealed before a higher court unless stated otherwise in the Code of Criminal Procedure. It is very important to observe the time limits allowed for the appeals. Decisions and judgements can be appealed within 15 days of the date that you received the decision but the court, which made the decision, must be notified in writing of a wish to exercise the right of appeal within 7 days as of the pronunciation of the judgment. If the accused is under arrest, the decision can be appealed within 15 days from the date the copy of the judgment was received. An appeal in cassation is submitted to the Supreme Court in writing within 30 days of making the judgement public.
Complaints about the actions of judges
If you want to complain about certain actions (but not decisions) of a judge in your case, you should submit a complaint to the chief justice of the court.
example If a judge has used derogatory language against you during the proceedings, you should complain about that to the chief justice of the court.
Time-limits for complaints
Most of the appeals and complaints have a time-limit for their submission. These time limits are usually determined by law and they must be indicated in the decision you are appealing.
However, some complaints do not have a specific time limit, because the issues you are complaining about can be discovered at any point during the trial. These complaints should be submitted as soon as possible after you have found out about any potential violation of your rights.
example If you have found out about reasons why a judge in your case may not be objective or impartial, you should raise that issue as soon as possible.
Reasonable length of trial
If you consider that your trial exceeds time limits that are reasonable, you should write an application to the chief justice of that court.
If you trial has already taken unreasonably long, you should ask the court to reduce your sentence in the event of your conviction.