Criminal Legislation Research Articles

ON CERTAIN ISSUES OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INSTITUTION OF PROBATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN AND THE SEARCH FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE IT

This article highlights some issues related to the implementation of the institution of probation in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The article presents statistics collected for the period 2019-2022 on suspended prisoners removed from the register in connection with: - with early release; - with a referral to an institution; - with the commission of a crime. To illustrate the problems of applying the material norms of the Criminal Code on probation in the activities of the Kazakh probation service, the author gives examples from the materials of law enforcement practice. The empirical experience of the departments of the probation service of interaction with district courts when sending submissions with a request to resolve the issue of the cancellation of conditional sentences against individual citizens is given. The analysis of court decisions sheds light on a certain problem of criminal legislation affecting the law enforcement practice of the Kazakh probation service when its employees send representations about the cancellation of a suspended sentence. In order to find ways to solve the existing law enforcement problems and improve the institution of probation, the author comes to the conclusion that it is expedient to conduct a survey as experts on the specified professional community of probation service employees, which should be faced with a number of topical questions formulated by him: Based on the illustrated court decisions and materials of the practice of the Kazakhstan probation service, the author presents his vision of the prospects for improving the norms of criminal legislation regulating the implementation of conditional sentences in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The hypothesis is put forward that the identification of the common position of the expert community of probation officers will entail the introduction of appropriate legislative initiatives with the preparation of a package of amendments and the organization of preliminary hearings with interested state bodies on improving the institution of probation in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Участники стадии предварительного расследования с неопределенным процессуальным статусом

Introduction. Section II of the CPC of the RF “Participants of criminal proceedings” does not contain a complete list of persons involved in criminal proceedings. The analysis of the norms of criminal procedural legislation and law enforcement practice indicates a rather extensive list of persons actually involved in criminal proceedings, but their procedural status is not clearly defined. In this regard, this article is devoted to the issue of procedural consolidation of the general status of participants of the preliminary investigation stage. The purpose of the research is to propose amendments to the current criminal procedural legislation related to the introduction of a norm regulating the rights and obligations of all persons involved in criminal proceedings at the stage of preliminary investigation, but not specified in Section II of the CPC of the RF. Methods. In order to comprehensively analyse the issues related to the procedural status of persons whose legal status is not fixed in the criminal procedural legislation, general scientific methods were used: formal-logical, generalisation, analysis, description, and the legal-technical as a private-scientific method made it possible to propose changes in the legislation. Results. The author concluded that the participants of criminal proceedings, who do not have a procedural status regulated by law, have equivalent procedural opportunities. This allowed to suggest fixing a norm regulating the rights and obligations of all participants of the stage of preliminary investigation in the CPC RF.

Редуцированные преступления

The relevance of the research topic is evidenced by the desire of the legislator to recognize unfinished torts as completed acts due to their increased social danger. The dialectical method in combination with instrumental methods of cognition was used as a methodological basis. During the study, it was established that in the current criminal law, reduced offenses in the form of preparation and attempt are contained in eight chapters of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The legislative-textual approach to truncated crimes made it possible to identify a number of significant shortcomings in the texts of articles. In particular, in the same part of the articles there is an integration of completed and unfinished compositions, different in the degree of social danger, a combination of types of accomplices in one part of the article, and the formulation in different parts of the article of instructions on the liability of one accomplice , repetition of identical features in the disposition of the article, etc. Based on the results of the study, the author comes to a number of conclusions: in criminal legislation, along with traditional crimes, there are reduced crimes that represent structurally incomplete criminal acts. Reduced acts, the signs of which are specified in the regulations of the Special Part of the Criminal Code, are unfinished types of crimes, and reduced acts, the signs of which are given in the norms of the Special Part, are qualified as completed crimes due to their increased social danger. A text-centric approach to criminal legal regulations allows us to identify shortcomings in the legislative text and make proposals aimed at improving the quality of the legislative text by eliminating existing legislative and technical defects.

Особенности формирования профессиональных навыков применения огнестрельного оружия сотрудниками полиции в экстремальных условиях

The article analyzes the issue of the formation of competent actions of law enforcement officers in the suppression of offenses in extreme conditions. The ability to use firearms in a dynamic, rapidly developing situation is certainly an urgent and relevant competence that meets modern challenges. The formation of professional skills to overcome stress factors that arise during the suppression of offenses is due to the need for strict compliance with the applicable norms of administrative and criminal legislation. The performance of law enforcement functions involves overcoming the resistance provided to police officers, in this regard, as an exceptional measure, law enforcement officers are allowed the lawful use of firearms. The situation of the use of firearms is unique in its development, since the actions of offenders are never repeated, aggression and resistance always manifest themselves in different ways. In this regard, law enforcement officers need to train and maintain a level of personal competence that allows them to professionally prevent offenses. The training and professionalism of police officers should be maintained in practical units in fire training classes. In this regard, the motivation and interest of employees involved in conducting classes in developing the necessary skills is extremely important. Various methods of conducting classes should be formed at the level of basic preparedness of law enforcement officers and based on the performance of exercises in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia no. 880 of November 23, 2017 ”On approval of the Manual on the organization of fire training in the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation“.

Актуальные проблемы правовой регламентации уголовно-процессуальных сроков

The article is devoted to problematic issues of legal regulation of terms based on the analysis of the normative provisions of modern and Soviet criminal procedure legislation. The author has identified and resolved an intra-industry legal conflict in the criminal procedure law between Article 128 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, according to which the terms established in the criminal procedure law are calculated in hours, days, months, and a number of articles of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, indicating calculation in other units of measurement (minutes, days, years). The law enforcement practice of calculating criminal procedural deadlines was analyzed and ambiguous decisions made by employees of internal affairs bodies were discovered. The main violations of the rights and freedoms of participants in criminal proceedings related to incorrect calculation of deadlines in criminal proceedings are revealed. Such violations lead to delays in criminal proceedings, non-compliance with the principle of legality and the principle of a reasonable period of criminal proceedings. As a result, proposals and recommendations were made to improve the law, consisting in supplementing and amending article 128 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

Подходы к классификации иных мер уголовно-правового характера, направленных на противодействие преступлениям, совершаемым против интересов Российской Федерации

Introduction. The problem of non-repressive impact on persons convicted of committing crimes in national criminal law and legislation is not solved to date, causing a sharp polemic at all levels of its discussion. This includes the issues of classification of measures of this kind, their correlation with punishment, the limits of application, the status itself, etc. Methods: the methodological basis of this research was formed by the basic provisions of the dialectical method of cognition, general scientific and private-scientific methods, such as comparative-legal, concretesociological, formal-logical, systemic and historical. Results. There is a rather persistent orientation of other measures of criminal-legal nature applied for offences against the interests of the Russian Federation. Firstly, the use of their potential should occur exclusively in cases of committing crimes of a certain kind. Secondly, the expediency of their application, both in addition to punishment and independently, is in cases of the perpetrator’s refusal to cooperate [12, p. 63] in terms of identifying foreign agents or agents of influence (foreign agents), as well as intransigence to the existing state power and its ideology. Thirdly, all of them are based on restrictions and deprivation of basic constitutional rights and freedoms of a person.The question of type differentiation of means of enforcement in relation to certain groups of offences, is practically not discussed at the moment in modern literature being outside the national criminal-legal doctrine. At the same time, this direction of development of other measures of criminal-legal nature seems to be a priority, as well as the question of their classification seems to be extremely actual and relevant. The solution of this issue will inevitably provide answers to many other questions of both theoretical and purely practical nature, thus facilitating the solution of the global task of fighting crime. In our case, we deal with countering threats to the interests of the Russian Federation.

Может ли использование информационных технологий быть квалифицирующим признаком преступлений против интеллектуальной собственности?

Introduction. The present article is devoted to the issue of registration of the use of information technologies in committing offences against intellectual property. This issue is considered by the author in three aspects - the use of computer information in the committing offences; information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet; and the use of artificial intelligence technologies in committing offences. Methods. The methods of formal logic, system-structural analysis are applied in the research, the main attention is paid to the analysis of materials of judicial practice. Results. The author concludes that the use of information technology should lead to stricter liability in cases where it significantly simplifies crime committing, leads to an increased number of recipients of destructive information or illicit goods and substances, and has the potential to raise the number of offences committed. Based on the results of the research, the author formulates specific proposals to improve criminal legislation in the field of intellectual property. The author proposes to include in separate articles on offences against intellectual property the qualifying feature “an act committed with the use of information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet, or with the use of artificial intelligence systems”.

Принцип неотвратимости ответственности как доктринальный принцип российского и армянского права

A comparative analysis of the doctrinal principle of the inevitability of responsibility in Russian and Armenian law is carried out. Currently, this principle has no direct normative consolidation either in the legislation of the Russian Federation or in the legislation of the Republic of Armenia. However, there was a period in the history of Armenia (2003–2021) when the principle of the inevitability of responsibility was a principle of positive law enshrined in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia. Later, the Armenian legislator deliberately rejected this principle as the fundamental idea of criminal legislation. The Russian courts consider the principle of the inevitability of responsibility as a constitutional principle. Based on the analysis of Russian and Armenian legislation and judicial practice, the author comes to the conclusion that the principle of the inevitability of responsibility is an exclusively doctrinal principle that does not represent the norms of law (a set of legal norms), but is a specific regulator of public relations that influences law enforcement practice.

The Regime as a primary means of correction for convicts: theory and practice

The article discusses the specifics of a correctional tool, such as the regime, which is part of the system of correctional measures for prisoners and is intended by the legislator to contribute to the achievement of the declared goals of the criminal and penal enforcement legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is empha-sized that the regime, being the main means of correcting convicts, is in fact not such, but has turned into a total means of controlling convicts and what is especially worth noting, taking into account the penetration of modern means of technical control into places of deprivation of liberty, provokes a contingent of criminal en-vironment to resist this type of supervision from which you cannot escape, which leads to this type of viola-tion of the established procedure for serving a sentence, such as damage to technical equipment (video cam-eras). The work makes an attempt to compare the regime with other means of correction in institutions of var-ious security and as a result, the authors offer their proposals for inclusion in Kazakhstan’s criminal and pris-on legislation, along the way, an understanding of the role and place of the regime among other main means of correction of convicts and its purpose is proposed and voiced, and also proposals were formulated for criminal legislation in the form of a separate article draft.

Ensuring the Rights of Minors in Criminal Proceedings under the Legislation of Certain Foreign Countries

The paper analyzes the procedural status, as well as the specifics of the legal regulation of the participation of minors in the criminal procedure of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Belarus, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, the Republic of Armenia, Afghanistan, and the Swiss Confederation. The authors analyze the legislatively defined concept of a minor participant in criminal proceedings, the institution of representation, as well as the availability of additional procedural guarantees provided for by criminal procedure legislation. The study found that the period of detention of a minor suspected of committing a crime is not equal to 48 hours in all countries. In particular, the criminal procedure legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic regulates the detention of this category of persons for a period of no more than 24 hours, which is regarded by the authors as an additional guarantee of the state aimed at protecting the psycho-emotional state of minors during criminal proceedings. The peculiarities of the production of investigative actions involving this category of persons, the peculiarities of their representation, as well as the involvement of a teacher, psychologist and doctor in criminal procedural relations are revealed. The authors recognize the Kazakh model of criminal procedure as an enhanced version of representation, which provides for mandatory representation of minor victims, civil plaintiffs and private prosecutors by both a legal representative and a representative, which can be either a lawyer or another person. The study made it possible to form a generalized idea of the rights and obligations of juvenile participants in criminal proceedings implementing various criminal procedural functions, as well as to express the author’s position on the possibility of introducing into the Russian criminal procedural space the most successful practice of legal regulation of ensuring the rights of minors in criminal proceedings, identified in foreign legislation.

К вопросу о некоторых проблемах межотраслевого взаимодействия уголовного и административно-деликтного законодательства

The article highlights and analyzes the problems of criminal and administrative legislation related to deviations from the principles of consistency and fairness of law. The present article delves into the consideration of the actual problem associated with the peculiarities of differentiation of legal responsibility for falsification of vari-ous evidence in criminal cases and cases of administrative offenses. The author analyzed the current legisla-tion establishing administrative and criminal liability for falsification of the specified evidence, distinguished the features and problems of regulation and differentiation of these types of legal liability for the committing these unlawful acts. The work uses dialectical, analytical, comparative legal and other methods. Based on the con-ducted research, the author formulated specific conclusions and proposals aimed at improving the regulation of liability for falsification of evidence in an administrative offense case.

Criminal legal and criminological analysis of offenses against sexual freedom and immunity in Ukraine: current state and prospects

The highest social values of any legal country are the protection of natural rights, which include life, health, dignity, freedom and inviolability of the person. Ukraine declared these rights as the basic ones in the Art. 3 and 29 of the Constitution. The number of criminal offenses is large enough and gradually increasing, but only a small number of them are really important for the life of the individual and the consequences of their actions remain until the end of the life of the victim. Such criminal offenses include articles that protect sexual freedom and immunity. Ukraine has been under martial law for 10 months, and during this period cases of sexual violent criminal offenses have taken place. The aim of the study is to analyze the statutes, declarations and conventions that should protect persons from the said criminal offenses. The study analyzed 1) the attitude of the ECHR to criminal offenses related to sexual freedom and immunity, and changes in legislation in connection with the ratification of international law; 2) conflicts and inconsistencies that exist in the law on criminal liability now and those that do not comply with international treaties that were ratified, for example, the new version of Art. 155 and 303 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine; 3) the latest changes in the legislation of Ukraine concerning Art. 156 “Child abuse for sexual purposes”of the Criminal Code of Ukraine; 4) data from the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine on criminal offenses related to sexual freedom and immunity. As a result, it has been established that 40% of the analyzed difficulties do not end with the indictment in the court. There is a doubt about the determination of the same degree of social danger of rape (Art. 152 the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and sexual violence (Art. 154 the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The Art. 154 the Criminal Code of Ukraine concerning the difficulty of proving the criminal offense was analyzed, and a new version of this article was proposed. Diagrams with the data from the register of court decisions the correlation of indictments and court decisions on the recognition of persons guilty of the mentioned criminal offenses were created. The explanations of the Supreme Court concerning this category of cases were analyzed and presented. Finally, proposals were formulated to improve the current version of the criminal legislation of Ukraine.

Сравнительно-правовой анализ уголовного законодательства России и Таджикистана, предусматривающего ответственность за вовлечение несовершеннолетнего в совершение преступления

The article presents a criminal-legal analysis of the Russian and Tajik criminal legislation providing responsibility for the involvement of a minor in the commission of a crime. Article 150 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Article 165 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan are analyzed in detail, the main differences between the two legal systems in the considered issue are presented. The article analyzes the content of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Tajikistan devoted to the issues of judicial practice of application of legislation regulating the peculiarities of criminal liability of minors. Statistical data of Russia and Tajikistan on crimes committed by minors or with their complicity are given.

Problematic Issues of the Legal Regulation of Voluntary Surrender of Narcotic Drugs

Introduction: the Russian Federation is taking effective measures aimed at preventing and solving crimes related to illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs. Most of the measures applied in practice today are not effective enough and need to be significantly improved. Despite the fact that the forces of the state and society are aimed at actively combating drug trafficking, it is necessary to improve the system of countering this type of criminal encroachment against public health. The measures taken should be comprehensive and aimed at a more detailed study of the identity of the drug offender, the search for causes and conditions conducive to the commission of the illegal acts in question. In the paper, some recommendations are made to improve the current criminal legislation in the field of combating drug trafficking and problematic issues of voluntary surrender of narcotic drugs are considered. The purpose of the study is to analyze the controversial issues of voluntary surrender of substances with limited circulation (narcotic drugs); to develop significant proposals and recommendations in the field of law enforcement on the identified issues; as well as countering (preventing) illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs in the criminal law plane, aimed at improving the effectiveness of criminal law counteraction measures. Research methods: the classical methodological concept, which includes the general scientific methods in particular, as well as a set of socio-scientific methods in its predominant component – the statistical method. Results of the study and conclusions: the authors conclude that in order to ensure the unity of the law enforcement approach, it is proposed to make clarifications in the note to Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, namely, to consolidate the concepts of “a real opportunity to dispose of them in another way” and the moment of detention within the framework of criminal procedural actions.

Criminal Legal Characteristics of Subjects of Crimes Against Morality

The main problem is the relevance of the research topic. The history of the development of civilization shows that law and morality as components of the spiritual culture of society are organically linked to each other. The legal system of any state enshrines the moral requirements and moral principles that are vital for the whole society. When creating norms or improving them, the legislator must take into account the state of the public moral culture of the population so that the laws being developed are fair and perceived by members of society. Purpose: The purpose of the study is the further theoretical development of a set of criminal law issues related to determining the place of morality in the system of objects of criminal law protection, their role in the system of measures to combat crime, as well as the development on this basis of proposals and recommendations for improving criminal legislation regulating liability for attacks on public morality. Methods: Methodology and methodology of the study. The methodological basis of the study was made up of: generally recognized methods of scientific research of the phenomena of reality in their interrelation and interdependence both at the theoretical level (systemic, comparative legal, formal legal, historical methods of analysis, etc.) and at the empirical level (statistical analysis, questionnaires, research of documents, printed publications); the main provisions of the theory of criminal law, ethics, philosophy, psychology; rules of formal logic. The results and their significance: The stated circumstances, as well as the lack of elaboration and discussion of most of the provisions related to the modern legal regulation of crimes against public morality and their qualifications, determined the choice of the research topic. Crimes against morality are mostly committed intentionally. For example, involvement in prostitution, the organization of brothels for prostitution or maintenance, as well as other types of criminal acts directed against humanity (morality), are committed with direct intent. A person who organizes and maintains brothels for prostitution is aware that he is doing this for profit. Among the crimes committed against humanity (morality), animal abuse is committed mainly out of hooligan motives.

Private Life, Object of Criminal Protection in the European Context

The present action comes as a result of some recent legislative changes, at the level of Romania, more precisely the criminalization of "revenge pornography", but not as a distinct act, according to the provisions of the Criminal Code, but as a variant of committing the crime of violation of private life. Taking into account the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to private life, we want to analyse to what extent and how the national legislator of other Member States of the European Union understood to criminalize the behaviour mentioned above. Moreover, considering the criminalization of child pornography, from the European Council Convention on Computer Crime, as well as from the Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 13, 2011, we want to analyse the opportunity of the existence in Romanian legislation of a distinct criminalization, with the name of "revenge pornography", in the same title of the special part of the Criminal Code as the crime of child pornography, taking into account the protected social value, while observing whether such an orientation is found in the criminal legislation of other Member States. Another aspect that will be considered from the perspective of applying the law to different cases brought to justice is that related to international judicial cooperation when the object of criminal protection is private life.

الشخصية القانونية للروبوت الجراحي ومدى إمكانية تحديد المسؤولية الجنائية

The study aimed to identify the concept of legal personality and the meaning of robotic surgery and to identify the possibility of robotic surgery bearing criminal liability. The study used the deductive approach and it study reached several results including that legal personality is the individual's ability to acquire rights and be obligated to obligations. It was also found that robotic surgery is a programmed robot to perform surgical intervention in the human body. Additionally, there is difficulty in determining the criminal liability of the robot, although it is possible to determine the civil liability of the manufacturer or the medical entity that used the robot in surgery. The study recommended several recommendations including the necessity of enacting criminal legislation that determines the entity or persons criminally responsible for the robot's actions and setting controls and conditions for granting the robot legal personality and rules of criminal liability arising from its actions.

Basic models of building pre-trial investigation as a stage of criminal proceedings in foreign countries

One of the main areas of development of criminal procedure legislation has been, and still is, the differentiation of criminal proceedings into pre­trial and trial stages. The author notes the current trends in national criminal procedure legislation aimed at optimising the procedure for investigating criminal cases and reducing the timeframe for their investigation. The desire for democratisation of the criminal procedure doctrine, strengthening of the guarantees of admissibility of evidence, adversarial process, and changes in the process model itself, along with the fundamental trends in the development of the rule of law, have led to a large-scale adoption of foreign criminal procedure institutions.
 The authors examines the main models of pre­trial investigation as a stage of criminal proceedings in the countries with the Anglo-Saxon (England, USA) and Romano-Germanic (France, Germany, Switzerland) legal systems. Given the materials studied, it is noted that when building models of pre-trial investigation of criminal proceedings, regardless of the system of law used in different States, the legislator focuses on improving two areas: criminal procedure and criminal law. The criminal law criterion is responsible for determining a more moderate sentence by reaching an agreement between the prosecution and defence. The criminal procedural criterion, in turn, defines two more areas of change: the possibility of reducing the procedural timeframe of the proceedings in a certain part or in general; reducing the procedural obligations of persons involved in criminal proceedings. The authors come to the conclusion that it is necessary to modernise the current model of the pre-trial stage of the national criminal procedure with due regard for the positive experience of the most developed Western countries.

Problematic aspects of criminal prosecution for domestic violence

mestic violence.The article is devoted to the analysis of the features of bringing criminal responsibility for committing domestic violence. It has been proven that the establishment of criminal responsibility for committing domestic violence is important for the following reasons: firstly, from the point of view of protecting the rights of victims, since domestic violence is one of the most serious forms of violation of rights, it endangers social values, such behavior can encroach on mental and physical health, honor, dignity, sexual freedom and sexual integrity; secondly, its establishment is part of Ukraine’s international obligations; thirdly, when domestic violence is criminalized, victims are more likely to seek help from law enforcement agencies, they are certain that their complaints will be carefully considered and their rights will be protected; fourth, criminalizing domestic violence helps prevent illegal behavior. At the same time, there are still certain problematic aspects related to bringing criminal responsibility for committing domestic violence. The mentioned actualizes the research of the chosen issue.Special attention is paid to the importance of the Convention of the Council of Europe on the prevention of violence against women and domestic violence and the fight against these phenomena of 11.05.2011 in the establishment of criminal liability for the commission of domestic violence and the changes made to criminal and criminal procedural legislation in connection with bringing the legislation into compliance with the norms of the Convention.The statistical information of appeals regarding domestic violence and criminal proceedings considered by the court was analyzed. The problematic aspects of criminal responsibility for committing domestic violence include: 1.Establishing the systematicity of domestic violence. 2. Inefficient investigation. 3. Attribution of domestic violence to cases of private prosecution.It was concluded that the criminalization of domestic violence is a significant step on the way to European integration, Ukraine’s fulfillment of international obligations, and protection of victims of domestic violence. Taking into account the shortcomings and challenges that have arisen in connection with bringing guilty persons to criminal responsibility, it is proposed to carry out the following measures: firstly, the development of a clear judicial practice in the matter of establishing systematicity as a sign of a criminal offense provided for in Article 126-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, secondly, the formation of a non- discriminatory attitude towards victims among law enforcement officers and, in general, the formationof intolerance to any manifestations of domestic violence in society; third, the exclusion of domestic violence and crimes related to domestic violence from private prosecution cases.

Features of pre-judicial investigation in criminal proceedings in foreign countries

The scientific article is devoted to the definition of certain features of the procedure for conducting a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings of foreign countries. The origins of the separation of the «preliminary investigation» as a separate stage of the criminal process are established, as well as the relationship of national legal traditions and types of legal systems with the corresponding standards inherent in the criminal process is traced.
 The analysis of the criminal procedural legislation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Spain, Great Britain and the French Republic was carried out. The main aspects of the pre-trial investigation and inquiry of the Federal Republic of Germany have been studied. It has been established where criminal proceedings begin, how the interaction between prosecutors and police officers is configured, which is free evidence. Attention is focused on the types of suspicions depending on the degree of probability and functional purpose.
 It was determined that the pre-trial investigation as an independent stage of criminal proceedings, according to the Criminal Procedure Law of Spain, is always the first in the criminal process. However, at the same time, the inquiry is in no way formally separated from the pre-trial investigation. The prosecutor and the investigating judge are united with the common goal of identifying the person who committed the crime and collecting the necessary evidence. The specifics of this stage depending on the type of proceedings are also indicated.
 The characteristic features of criminal proceedings in Great Britain, which do not include the stage of pre-trial investigation at all, are considered. Despite the possibility of the defense party to collect evidence independently, the police's activities are considered extra-procedural, and therefore all the factual data collected by them need to be presented to the magistrate and their further confirmation.
 The position and procedure for starting an investigation under French law is outlined. Her criminal process considers inquiry and preliminary investigation as separate independent stages. First of all, an inquiry is conducted, then a criminal prosecution is initiated, after which a preliminary investigation begins.
 The conclusion of the article emphasizes the need for coordinated work of law enforcement agencies based on the principles of the rule of law, legality and justice. The necessity of applying the experience of foreign countries in improving the pre-trial investigation of Ukraine is argued.