Written cassation proceedings in domestic criminal procedure: application of law and perspectives for improvement

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the examination of the issue of the institute of written cassation proceedings in domestic criminal procedure, its application of law, and perspectives for improvement. The advantages and disadvantages of conducting written proceedings are analyzed. The problematic aspects of implementing written proceedings in the cassation instance are discussed, and ways to improve the norms of criminal procedural legislation are proposed. These improvements aim to strengthen the legal stability of judicial decisions, procedural efficiency, the effective execution of criminal proceedings’ objectives, and ensuring the adequate protection of the rights of its participants.The introduction of the rule regarding the inclusion in domestic normative acts of the provision on assigning the jurisdiction of the court of cassation instance in criminal proceedings to decide on the form of cassation proceedings is reasonable. During the initiation of cassation proceedings, depending on the sufficiency of the materials for considering the cassation complaint present in the case, the court must appoint cassation review either in written proceedings or in a court session. However, if the court, choosing the written form of proceedings, concludes after studying the provided materials that they are insufficient for delivering a lawful and justified decision, it must issue a resolution for the case to be considered in a court session.Enhancing the norms of criminal procedural legislation in the proposed manner will contribute to strengthening the legal stability of judicial decisions, procedural economy, ensuring an adequate level of protection of the rights of its participants, and solidifying the definition of written proceedings through the review of court decisions among the main trends of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. This will foster an understanding of the significance and crucial importance of this institution in criminal proceedings.