1. The investigation shall be commenced during the hearing by calling the litigants and the witnesses. The Defendant shall be questioned about his name, surname, profession, nationality, place of residence and place of birth, after which the charge imputed to him shall be announced. Next, the Public Prosecution and the Plaintiff, if any, shall submit their claims. Thereafter, the Defendant shall be asked how he pleads; if he pleads guilty, the court may decide that it is satisfied with his admission and then render a judgment against him without hearing the testimony of witnesses. Otherwise, the court shall hear the testimony of the prosecution witnesses, unless the crime is punishable by the death penalty, in such case, the court shall complete the investigation procedures. 2. Such witnesses shall first be examined by the Public Prosecution, and then by the victim, if present, the Plaintiff as concerns the latter's claim, then cross-examined by the Defendant, and finally by the Defendant liable for civil damages. The Public Prosecution, the victim, and the Plaintiff shall, respectively, may examine for a second time the witnesses in order to seek clarification of the facts to which they testified, while the court shall hear the testimony of each witness in private.
Interpretation and application must be checked against the official text and current version.