Pre-trial proceedings in the criminal procedure of Russia: place, role, significance, and development prospects

Abstract

The paper considers the problem of legislative registration of pre-trial proceedings as an independent part of the criminal procedure aimed at achieving its goals and objectives. The criminal procedure unity declared by the legislator, which is manifested in the general purpose of all criminal procedural activities (Ar¬ticle 6 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation), and the continued identification of the criminal procedure with criminal proceedings (Ar-ticle 1, pa¬rag¬raph 56 of Ar¬ticle 5, Article 6 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation) contradict its mixed nature, create a false impression of the unity of the criminal procedure activities of investigators, prosecutors, and judges, hinder the actual development of adversariality as a principle of exclusively judicial proceedings, negatively affect the quality and efficiency of the criminal procedure as a whole. According to the author, a clear division of pre-trial and judicial proceedings should increase the responsibility of the preliminary investigation bodies and the prosecution office for the effectiveness of pre-trial proceedings, as well as ensure the true independence of the court. Consideration of pre-trial proceedings as an independent type of activity separated from judicial proceedings allows deferring to the judgment of the scientific community the question of the necessity to fix both the goals and objectives specific to each part of the criminal procedure and the formulation of separate groups of principles determining the essence of criminal procedural activity in pre-trial and, separately, in judicial proceedings.