Thesis for a Candidate Degree in Law Sciences with a specialization in 12.00.09 – Criminal Procedure and Criminalistics; Forensic Examination; Operational Investigations. – Academy of Advocacy of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2017.
The thesis substantiates the proposals on the improvement of the methodological, procedural, and organizational aspects of the procedure for commencement of proceedings in cases of criminal offenses. In particular, the author draws attention to the main drawbacks of the current procedure for commencement of the investigation and justifies that it contradicts both methodological guidelines for the emergence of procedural legal relations, and a number of constitutional principles and European standards of justice as well.
The author justifies that as the word “criminal” in Latin means “criminous”, the term “criminal proceedings” should be replaced with the term of “proceedings in cases on criminal offenses”.
Since the principle of publicity extends to all stages of legal proceedings, it would be correct for Art. 25 CPC to regulate the commencement of the proceedings, not the investigation as one of its stages, which is a legal act commencing legal relations aimed at conducting judicial procedure and constitutes grounds for commencement of an investigation. As for the actions connected with its commencement, it has signs of independent stage of criminal proceedings.
Since the primary information about a criminal offense constitutes the grounds for commencement of proceeding, then, the assessment of the existence or absence of grounds for commencement of the proceedings would have to be mandatory, and if there is a need for verification, it should be carried out in a manner determined by law within a reasonable time.
The author proposes to distinguish the powers to commence the proceedings for the criminal offences to the head of investigation authority, and for the crimes to the prosecutor, and to criminalize actions for ist illegal commencement as well as refusal to commence it.
The author argues that neither the detection of signs of a criminal offense (Article 25 of the CPC) nor the identification of circumstances that may indicate his commission of the same (Article 211 CCPC.1) in each case can constitute the reason for commencement of proceedings, since they can not be always the indisputable testimony to its commission.
It is proposed in the structure of the mentioned grounds to distinguish the material and legal and procedural aspects and their content is disclosed.
The author argues that as the decision of the commencement of proceedings is a legal act that initiates the relationships aimed at the administration of justice and legal basis of the investigation and judicial procedure, then, it must comply with the requirements of Part 3, Art. 110 CPC, according to which the decisions of the investigator and the prosecutor are taken in the form of a decision.
Key words: proceedings in a case on criminal offense, pre-trial investigation, legal fact, procedural decision, substantive and procedural grounds.
