GROUNDS AND TERMS FOR NOTIFICATION OF A PERSON ON SUSPICION OF COMMITTING A CRIMINAL OFFENSE

Abstract

The article is devoted to the characteristics of the grounds and terms of notification of a person on suspicion of committing a criminal offense. Attention is drawn to the fact that the procedural act of reporting a suspicion consists of a system of such procedural decisions and actions: decision-making and legal registration of a report of suspicion; delivery of a written notice of suspicion; informing the suspect about his/her procedural rights and explaining them, if necessary. It is stated that actual ground for informing a person of a suspicion is availability of sufficient evidence for suspecting a person of a criminal violation. To create a suspicion and present it in a written form an investigator or a prosecutor has to state: an event of a criminal violation and define its legal characterization; a definite person’s guilt of commitment of a criminal violation; lack of grounds to close the criminal investigation. To inform a person of a suspicion it is necessary to have a system of actual, acceptable, reliable and sufficient proof that indicates the presence of corpus delicti in a definite person’s actions. Erroneous informing of a suspicion causes damage to the person who was a subject to criminal investigation as well as justice in general. Attention is drawn to the fact that the term “reasonable suspicion” is a conventional standard made up by case-law dealing of European court of human rights. It is stated that reasonable suspicion is a lower standard of proof than conviction beyond reasonable doubt and requires a smaller weight of evidence than drawing up a bill of indictment or approval of guilty verdict. It is stated that law of criminal procedure does not contain a definite requirement concerning a stage of pre-trial investigation at which the person has to be informed about the suspicion to help the instigator or the prosecutor concentrate on facts of the case. Attention is drawn to inadmissibility of informing a person of the suspicion directly before issuing an accusation to the defense.