Certain aspects of seizure and cancellation of property in criminal proceedings

Abstract

The subject matter of this article is the analysis of the procedure for imposing and lifting the seizure of property in criminal proceedings, which is considered with due regard to the current provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Although the issue of seizure of property is given quite a lot of attention in the national doctrine of criminal procedure law, the author in the course of the analysis highlights the currently controversial provisions relating to the regulation of the procedure for imposing and revoking the seizure of property in criminal proceedings and analyzes the court’s conclusions regarding the interpretation of problematic issues in the course of law enforcement, and examines the general approaches to seizure of property in criminal proceedings through the prism of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter – ECHR) case law. Among other things, the author examines the issues related to the procedural powers of special subjects of criminal proceedings (Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine/deputy Director, Director of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine/deputy Director) in specific cases determined by the criminal procedure law. At the same time, the author demonstrates that there are gaps in the current version of the Criminal Procedure Law in terms of regulating the powers of special subjects of criminal proceedings with regard to preliminary seizure of property without a court order, and also proposes amendments to the relevant article of the CPC of Ukraine with a view to bringing the provisions of the law in line with the general principles and purpose of criminal proceedings. Particular emphasis is placed on the issues related to the imposition and cancellation of seizure of property of a third party whose property is being considered in criminal proceedings, the status of which is regulated by Article 642 of the CPC of Ukraine. The author proposes amendments and additions to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine aimed at improving the procedures for seizure of property and ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of persons who do not have status in criminal proceedings and whose property becomes subject to seizure during the pre-trial investigation.