The Expression of the Will of the Accused (the Suspect) as a Criminal Procedure Category

Abstract

In modern criminal procedure regulations, the will of a criminally prosecuted person is gaining a greater influence on the criminal procedure, sometimes directing it, and in other cases — predetermining its results. The lawmaker is giving a criminally prosecuted person more opportunities to influence criminal procedure activities, and direct criminal case proceedings. In the current legal landscape, the expression of the will of the accused (the suspect) is supported by a sound legal basis and has become a prerequisite for the implementation of many criminal procedure institutions. A criminally prosecuted person has a certain scope of permissible actions, and is free to act within this scope. The author describes historical changes in the attitude of the state towards a person accused or suspected of a crime and examines the evolution of a new criminal procedure phenomenon — the expression of the will of the accused (the suspect). The author also breaks the development of Russian criminal proceedings into periods depending on the influence that the will of the prosecuted person has on the criminal procedure activities. It is shown that the will of the accused (the suspect) has a certain impact on the criminal procedure at all stages of criminal court proceedings. The author proves that the will of the accused (the suspect) as a legal phenomenon has become a criminal procedure category. It is concluded that, from the viewpoint of current criminal procedure legislation and the practice of its enforcement, especially in view of its further improvement, there is a necessity to introduce a new criminal procedure category, which has, in fact, already emerged — the category of «the expression of the will of the accused (the suspect)».