The doctoral dissertation explores the possibilities of modifying the dispute parameters in criminal trials. It answers questions about how they impact the dynamic between the court and the prosecution, judicial efficiency and the position of the defence. The first chapter explores different approaches to defining the scope of the criminal trial in different conceptual models of criminal procedure. It then highlights the framework for safeguarding the rights of the defence following modification of the dispute parameters as established in the European Union law and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The following chapters focus on the power of the prosecution to amend and expand the criminal charge during the trial and the power of the court to modify the facts and legal qualification of the criminal offence set in the prosecution’s charges, as established under Slovenian law. The main parts of the second and third chapters are based on the analysis of the case law of the Slovenian Supreme Court and higher courts. The analysis reveals certain established views on the changes in the factual and legal basis of the criminal trial. It gives insight into the relationships of the three main protagonists of the criminal proceedings, as manifested through the powers to modify the charges. The final chapter presents the empirical study on the frequency and characteristics of these modifications in Slovenian criminal proceedings. The author analysed a dataset of final criminal judgments for the offences of manslaughter, murder and theft. In its conclusion, the doctoral dissertation synthesises the findings of all the chapters and addresses the question of how the existing possibilities of modifying the dispute parameters affect the position of the defence, the activity of the prosecution and the activity of the court in defining the subject matter of the criminal dispute.
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