What is an alibi? The essence of the concept

The article tells about what an alibi is, how it can be, when it is considered subjective and where this term is most often used.

Law

Residents of more or less developed countries have long been accustomed to the fact that their personal interests can always be defended in court or, at least, try. And also to the fact that no one can be accused for no reason. But these seemingly absolutely natural and correct principles dominated the society not always. If we consider the example of our country, then the same tortures were repealed by the tsar's decree only at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and before that they were absolutely legal. And, of course, even innocent people admitted to torture. The same is with the protection of the suspect and lawyers. Although the latter exist from ancient times, but again until the beginning of the XIX century, the peasant class even simply did not have the right to protection.

Fortunately, gradually everything changed. Already in the first half of the XX century, in most developed and civilized countries, the processes, investigation and inquiry, took an adequate, legally competent and humane form. And an alibi is one of those terms that lawyers often use when protecting a suspect. Or the concepts used by prosecutors at the same ship's meetings. So what is an alibi, how does it happen? In this we will understand.

Definition

An alibi means a legal term, which is mainly used in criminal law. Its semantic load implies the presence of a number of factors, evidence, circumstances and witnesses, which testify to the non-involvement of the defendant or suspected of committing a particular crime. Simply put, this is the presence of factors and evidence, according to which a person could not be at the crime scene at the time of his commission and was in another, to which there are witnesses and evidence. Now we know what an alibi is.

Examples

For understanding and understanding, consider the following situation. For example, the crime was committed on 01.01.15 at 20:00. The police established a circle of suspects and began their interrogation or detention. And if one of them could prove that he was in a different place at the time of the crime, for example, at home, this fact will be his alibi. Naturally, there are few words, it is necessary to provide proof. For example, you can take into account the testimony of neighbors, the recording of the surveillance camera, etc. And if he brought several evidence at once, then this phenomenon is called an "iron" alibi.

Presumption of innocence

According to the presumption of innocence, no one can be accused or recognized as such without a court decision. Even in cases where a person's guilt is obvious, there is no doubt, and his actions do not have a double interpretation. And when answering the question, what is an alibi, one should mention the features of its proof or refutation. According to them, in the Russian legislation, if the defense party claims that the suspect has an alibi, then the prosecution is collecting the evidence or materials for the refutation. Agree: now we know what an alibi is.

Disclaimer

Alibi can be found to be disproved only if the court has been provided with evidence by the prosecution or other participants in the trial that the suspect was actually at the scene of the crime. Or stayed near it at the time of its commission. Since an alibi is a very important part of the legal process, much attention is paid to it. After proving its weighty presence, you can immediately get out of suspicion. And, on the contrary, with incoherent or little confirmed facts, a person immediately becomes one of the suspects.

Subjective notion of alibi

In our time no one can be charged for nothing. Even if no one doubts this fact and there are irrefutable evidence. It is the prosecution and sentencing that is solely the responsibility of the court. This phenomenon is called the presumption of innocence. The same goes for the alibi. The most unlikely of his facts should be checked in detail before being declared invalid. However, there is such a semi-official notion as a subjective alibi. So what is its meaning?

Everything is very simple. Such an alibi is a set of facts and circumstances related to the personality of the suspect, his physiology, the specific nature of the incident, which implies the initial impossibility of committing a crime. For example, a fragile girl can hardly kill two men in a melee. Or the legless invalid could not commit theft in the store, and then flee.

Conclusion

We disassembled the concept of "alibi". And we know what it is. As you can see, this legal term includes many features. It is a very important part of the process, called a court hearing. The concept is also taken into account during the preliminary investigation. And the collection of his evidence is particularly suitable, since the final result depends on them.