Charging Document

A charging document is the formal written instrument by which a prosecuting authority initiates criminal proceedings against a named defendant, setting out the specific offences alleged and the factual basis for them. The form varies by jurisdiction: in U.S. federal practice it may be an indictment returned by a grand jury, an information filed by a prosecutor, or a criminal complaint supported by affidavit; in England and Wales it is typically a written charge or indictment; in civil-law systems the analogous instrument is often called an acte d'accusation or Anklageschrift.

In international criminal law, the charging document carries particular weight because it defines the scope of the trial and the accused's right to be informed of the case against them under instruments such as Article 14(3)(a) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and Article 67(1)(a) of the Rome Statute (1998). At the International Criminal Court the equivalent instrument is the Document Containing the Charges (DCC), submitted by the Prosecutor under Rule 121(3) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence ahead of the confirmation-of-charges hearing before the Pre-Trial Chamber. At the ad hoc tribunals (ICTY, ICTR) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the term indictment was used, with confirmation by a single judge.

Key functions of any charging document include: (1) identifying the accused; (2) specifying each count, the legal characterisation, and the mode of liability; (3) pleading the material facts with sufficient particularity to enable a defence; and (4) establishing jurisdiction and admissibility. Defects in pleading — vagueness, duplicity, or failure to plead a mode of liability — have led to acquittals or amendments on appeal, as seen in several ICTY judgments addressing defective indictments. The document also fixes the temporal and geographic scope of evidence the prosecution may lead at trial, although amendments are generally permitted before confirmation or, with leave, afterwards under stricter conditions.