ADVERSARIAL MODEL OF PRE-TRIAL INVESTIGATION: ILLUSIONS AND REALITY

Abstract

The article analyzes certain trends in the mechanism of the adversarial process at the pre-trial investigation stage. It attempts to determine legislative changes in the regulation of the pre-trial investigation as a stage in criminal proceedings. The article also focuses on the essence of the investigation activity, the order of its implementation, the investigator’s functions and powers. At the same time any investigation has to ultimately aim at establishing the truth. The article determines the functional purposes of investigation (search) actions as well as secret investigation (search) actions and points out to certain problems and deficiencies in the course of their implementation. It dwells on the peculiarities of addressing special knowledge by various parties of the criminal proceedings (the state prosecution and the defense). The article concludes that at present the parties to the criminal trial proceedings do not have equal access to special knowledge. With this regard and taking into account the existing conditions, the article offers suggestions to optimize the investigation activity with the emphasis on the need for making criminalistic knowledge available to the pre-trial investigation and formation of an «adversarial criminalistics».