Some issues of prosecutor’s participation in proceedings on administrative offences: based on the European Court of Human Rights case law

Abstract

The scientific work focuses on reviewing the works of scholars who have studied various aspects of the implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. However, the issues of human rights protection and observance of the principle of competition during the consideration of an administrative offence case remain unaddressed.
 A scientific analysis has been made of the positions of the European Court of Human Rights with regard to the protection of fundamental human rights in proceedings on administrative offences, and the involvement of the prosecutor in the proceedings with a view to ensuring that the parties are competitive and that the prosecutor fulfils his/her main purpose under administrative law, which is to supervise compliance with and correct application of the provisions of current legislation.
 It has been proved that as a result of amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, it was excluded Section VII “Prosecution” and was supplemented Section VIII “Justice” with a new Article 131-1. Therefore, under the new Ukrainian constitutional legal order, the prosecutor’s office as an institution performing the function of criminal prosecution is structurally integrated into the general system of justice. Considering that the place and role of the prosecutor's office is defined in the title of Section VIII of the Constitution of Ukraine “Justice”, this indicates that the special status of the prosecutor’s office in the constitutional system of power is enshrined, and that there is a functional link between the court and the prosecutor’s office, which forms the legal basis of the prosecutor’s office and directly affects the practical activities of the prosecutor's office as an institution of public power.
 Based on the review of law enforcement practice, it has been noted that there is a need to revise the approach to administrative cases (under Article 130 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences) in the context of the European Court of Human Rights case law.
 It has been proposed to amend and supplement the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences with provisions on the protection of fundamental rights of persons involved in administrative proceedings and to establish the appropriate procedural role of the prosecutor in the administrative process.