The prosecution and defence submissions. The provisional conclusions.

What are provisional submissions?

Once the investigation phase is completed and the facts that may go to trial have been established, the parties wishing to bring charges must submit their provisional submissions, also known as the indictment.

This document is key because it formally defines what will be discussed at trial.

Content of the indictment

The indictment is structured into several sections established by law:

Facts

The prosecution must specify the facts attributed to the person under investigation, without going beyond what was determined during the investigation phase.

Legal classification

It indicates which offence or offences correspond to those facts.

Requested sentence

The corresponding penalty is proposed, specifying the type (imprisonment, fine, disqualification, etc.) and its duration or amount.

Civil liability

Measures to repair the harm caused to the victim are included, such as financial compensation or return of property.

Evidence

The prosecution proposes the evidence considered necessary to prove the facts.

Defence submission

Once the indictment has been filed, the defence may submit its own provisional submissions.

This document has the same structure as the prosecution’s and is used to oppose it, challenge the facts, or propose an alternative version.

Defence guarantees

The criminal justice system establishes important guarantees for the defence:

• A conviction cannot be based on facts different from those included in the indictment
• In general, it is also not possible to convict for more serious offences or impose harsher penalties than those requested by the prosecution
• Any modification must be foreseeable and allow the defence to respond before the judgment

Absence of defence submission

If the defence does not file a submission, it does not mean it accepts the facts or the conviction.

It is simply understood that it opposes them.

Step before trial

Once the submissions are filed, the case is transferred to the court responsible for the trial.

This court decides which evidence is admitted and which is not.

This decision cannot be immediately appealed, although at the beginning of the trial it is possible to debate the admitted and rejected evidence.