Grounds and purposes of the investigative inspection in criminal proceedings

Abstract

An analysis of the text of Article 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation "Grounds for Inspection" indicates a discrepancy between its title and content. The concept of "grounds for inspection" is not contained or disclosed in this article, and the objectives of the inspection are formulated incorrectly and do not express the specifics of the investigative action in question. In practice, this leads to a misunderstanding of the purpose of the inspection and, as a result, to the ineffectiveness of its application in specific situations. In some cases, the lack of a clear and understandable definition of the grounds and purposes of the inspection leads to the inadmissible substitution of other investigative actions (for example, a search) by the inspection and, thus, to the violation of the rights of citizens whose interests are affected by the conduct of such an action. As a result of the analysis of legislation, the practice of its application and scientific literature, the authors come to the conclusion that it is necessary to distinguish between general and special legal grounds (permits) for inspection. A general legal permission is a written decision (resolution) to initiate criminal proceedings (in exceptional cases, a report of a crime). A special legal permission is an oral decision (expressed outside the will of the investigator) to conduct an inspection. At the same time, the objects of inspection are various kinds of material traces that are important for establishing the presence or absence of the circumstances of the criminal case (single real objects or groups of objects, their attributes, properties and states, location environment). Sufficient evidence obtained from a legally recognized non-procedural or procedural source to indicate the existence of such traces constitutes the factual basis for the inspection that will be carried out for the purpose of their detection, recording and seizure.