Historical development of the institute of special court proceedings in Ukraine (in absentia)

Abstract

Judicial consideration of criminal proceedings without the participation of the accused (in absentia) is a fairly common thing in various legal systems and has deep historical roots, which are connected with local political events, culture and traditions. Thus, criminal proceedings in the absence of a suspect or accused are used in the legislation of the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Estonia, Moldova, and other countries.
 However, regardless of different approaches to the application of such a mechanism of judicial proceedings, appeals to the European Court of Human Rights regarding the procedure for sentencing a person in absentia are not so rare.
 In connection with this, questions often arise regarding the justness of the judicial process during absentee proceedings, since in such cases the accused is not present at the court session, which practically makes it difficult to observe his rights and freedoms.
 The article analyzes the historical development of the institution of special criminal proceedings on the territory of Ukraine, since the formation of any modern legal system depends on historical and political changes in the country. The analysis of various historical legal documents will help to understand the reasons and conditions for the formation of the law enforcement technique in the criminal process during the consideration of the case without the participation of the accused in court (in absentia), the attitude to such type of procedure, as well as the protection of the rights of the parties during the use of special criminal proceedings.
 The article examines the peculiarities of the emergence of such a mechanism as special court proceedings in Ukraine, the introduction of the “in absentia” institution, its peculiarities and the purpose of its functioning.