Deadline-setting for unattributed offenses: Uniform interpretation of procedural contestations when perpetrators remain unidentified

The High Court of Cassation and Justice, sitting as the Chamber for Recourse in the Interest of the Law, admitted the appeal filed by the Prosecutor General, thereby establishing a binding mandatory interpretation for the uniform application of the law. The dispute concerned the procedural handling of contestations regarding the duration of criminal proceedings in cases where the perpetrators have not been identified or identifiable, despite the diligent efforts of the investigative authorities. The Court ordered that such cases require the establishment of specific deadlines to finalize the criminal investigation, including the identification of the perpetrators, or a determination that a new contestation cannot be filed. The decisive legal basis for this uniform interpretation is Article 488^6 paragraph (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, read in conjunction with Article 285 of the same Code and Article 154 of the Penal Code, with the decision carrying mandatory effect pursuant to Article 474 paragraph (4) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.