Tendencies of Development of Activities of a Prosecutor in Elimination of Obstacles to Consideration and Resolution of Criminal Cases under the 1864 Charter of Criminal Proceedings

Abstract

The paper substantiates the relevance of historical experience of the legal regulation in the context of the modern reform of the prosecutor’s work aimed at elimination of obstacles to consideration and resolution of criminal cases with a view to ensure the adoption of a lawful and reasonable decision on the case, which will certainly contribute to the achievement of the objectives of criminal proceedings. The paper investigates the cases of the 19th century when prosecutors returned criminal cases for additional investigation at the pre-trial stage of criminal proceedings. The author has examined the evolution of the goals, objectives and functions of the institution of return of cases by the prosecutor for further investigation in the specified period. The subject of the study amounts to the examination of the institution of additional investigation from the standpoint of its historical genesis. The author focuses on the analysis of the procedure applied to cases returned by the prosecutor for further investigation, the grounds for investigation and ways of correcting the revealed violations. Taking into account the historical experience, the author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to improve the activity of the prosecutor aimed at eliminating obstacles. The author has formulated and substantiated proposals for modernization of the legal regulation of the procedure under consideration, as the return of the case for additional investigation constitutes a reserve mechanism for achieving the purpose of criminal proceedings that has restorative nature with regard to the legal rights and interests of the participants of criminal proceedings and their compliance with the relevant legal procedure. This procedure is important for making the right decision on the merits. Thus, the purpose of the work is to elucidate the process of formation and functioning of the institution of additional investigation enshrined in the Charter of Criminal Proceedings. To achieve this goal, the basic scientific methods (dialectical method of cognition, method of systematic analysis, deduction and induction, methods of comparisons and analogies, and a number of others) have been used. The main objectives of the study have been achieved on the basis of the comparative legal method. The practical significance of the work is that it justifies the need for legislative unification of legal norms regulating the activities of the prosecutor aimed at removing the obstacles to the consideration and resolution of criminal cases and introduction of appropriate amendments and additions to normative legal acts that would coordinate the procedure for sending cases by the procurator for additional investigation in strict compliance with the fundamental principles of domestic criminal proceedings.