Criminal Procedural Activity Research Articles

Допенитенциарная пробация в системе пробации Российской Федерации

The establishment and development of an effective probation system in the Russian Federation provides for the assignment to penal inspectorates of appropriate powers: assistance in matters of employment, housing, psychological and legal support to persons - primarily those released from serving the sentence and those serving non-custodial sentences. With regard to criminal procedural activity, it is possible to single out norms, enshrined in criminal and criminal procedural legislation, that can be called harbingers of conciliation procedures in the Russian criminal process. These are norms providing for: the possibility of reconciliation between the victim and the accused; exemption from criminal liability; termination of the criminal case due to reconciliation with the victim; and norms applied in criminal proceedings against minors and providing for release in connection with the application of coercive measures of educational influence. A number of norms of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation directly provide for the need to explain to the parties the right to reconciliation. The author sees some of the characteristics inherent in conciliation procedures in the fast-track forms of investigation: recognition by the suspect of their guilt, the nature and extent of the harm caused by the crime, agreement with the legal wording of the act; consent of the victim to the use of fast-track investigation procedures. The author stresses that, in criminal proceedings and for the purposes of criminal proceedings, the probation service cannot use mediation technologies: this is interference in a different area. It seems that attempts to “introduce” the probation service directly into crimes investigation or litigation are groundless and inappropriate. At the same time, researchers of this issue note the positive effect of using mediation technologies in working with convicts in penal activities. Mediators assist penal inspectors in working with juvenile offenders and their families. Their job is to advise on resolving conflicts and interpersonal problems, help build relationships with relatives, and teach socially beneficial interaction skills.

Primenimost mezhdunarodnyh dogovorov v ugolovnom processe: primer Belarusi

The article indicates that the norms of international treaties can be a legal basis for making decisions in the course of criminal procedural activities, serve as a message in the formation and formulation of a legal position by participants in criminal proceedings. The absence of general regulation of the rules of interaction between the criminal procedure law and international treaties of the Republic of Belarus was established. Attention is drawn to the fact that a self-executing international treaty, permitted for application on the territory of Belarus by an internal legal act, is included in the system of sources of criminal procedural law of the Republic of Belarus. The norms of such an international treaty can be applied in the course of criminal proceedings, acting practically as special in relation to the rules of the Belarusian legislation. The text of the Criminal Procedure Code of Belarus contains a number of norms referring to international treaties regulating certain specific issues. Several varieties of such partial references have been identified. The article reveals a range of international treaties, that should by mandatory applicable within criminal proceedings due to explicit reference in the Criminal Procedure Code of Belarus (defining human rights and freedoms; containing norms on the procedure for providing international legal assistance in criminal matters; regulating civil proceedings). Other international treaties have been identified, which in their essence can be applied within criminal proceedings in Belarus, and sometimes their norms can replace the corresponding national criminal procedural norms. The need to take into account the norms of consular conventions which contain criminal procedural norms (for example, on the right of a detainee to consular assistance) was especially noted. Due to the lack of a general reference to international treaties in the Criminal Procedure Code of Belarus, based on the principle of pacta sunt servanda, it is indicated that there is an unacceptable legislative encumbrance on the application of such treaties. In the course of the research, general conditions for the applicability of an international treaty within the criminal proceedings of the Republic of Belarus were formulated.

THE CONCEPT OF THE POWERS OF THE PROSECUTOR IN THE EXERCISE OF PROSECUTORIAL SUPERVISION OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURAL ACTIVITIES OF THE BODIES OF INQUIRY

The article deals with the issues of the concept of the powers of the prosecutor in the exercise ofprosecutorial supervision of the criminal procedural activities of the bodies of inquiry. The authors havecome to the following conclusions. The powers of a prosecutor in criminal proceedings are a set of his rightsand obligations provided for by criminal procedural norms aimed at implementing his functions in criminalproceedings in order to achieve his appointment. In essence the powers are a form of expression of the willof the prosecutor as a public authority. An important feature of the concept of «prosecutor’s authority» is thatit can be defined and established only in a law or other normative legal act that has binding force. Often in the special literature the concepts of powers and legal means of the prosecutor are interpreted as equivalent.In the opinion of the authors it is wrong to identify these concepts. The powers represent the rights of theprosecutor provided for by law. In fact these are the possibilities of the prosecutor regulated by law. Thepowers of the prosecutor are broader than legal means since they cover a larger range of prosecutorialactivities. As a final conclusion the authors define the powers of the prosecutor in the supervision of thecriminal procedural activities of the bodies of inquiry which is understood as the totality of his rights andobligations provided for by criminal procedural norms aimed at the implementation of his functions incriminal proceedings in order to achieve his appointment

THE ROLE OF DECISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF UKRAINE IN ENSURING PROPORTIONALITY AND THE RULE OF LAW IN JUDICIAL PRACTICE

ANNOTATION: Introduction. In Ukraine, the principle of the rule of law is recognized and operates as a modern principle of the Ukrainian law system. The Constitution of Ukraine has the highest legal force. Laws and other normative legal acts are adopted on the basis of the Constitution of Ukraine and must comply with it. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine decides on the compliance of the Constitution of Ukraine with the laws of Ukraine and other normative acts, and carries out the official interpretation of the Constitution of Ukraine. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine determines the norms of a law or other normative act as those that correspond or do not correspond to the principle of the rule of law. The constitutional principles of the rule of law and protection of human rights are systematically interconnected and are embodied in the norms of the Constitution of Ukraine, which, in particular, determine the right to judicial protection. Summary of research results. Decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine are important for the development of doctrine in criminal and criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine. It should be noted that the current criminal procedure law does not determine, until the end, the regulation of the appeal against the decisions of the investigating judge during the pre-trial investigation; does not establish a norm according to which a precautionary measure in the form of detention or house arrest should be considered extended in the absence of requests from the parties to change or cancel such a measure, deprives the person of adequate protection against arbitrariness. Conclusions. Decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine are important for the development of doctrine in criminal and criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine promotes the quality of legislation by repealing unconstitutional provisions, is important for further improving the efficiency of judicial review and ensuring the unity of judicial practice, promotes the implementation of legal principles of predictability, rule of law, effective protection of human rights. Decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, its legal positions have a regulatory impact on the implementation of criminal procedural activities and are a means of eliminating gaps in criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine.

Properties of Criminal Procedure Presumptions

The process of proving has always been and today still is the central problem of criminal proceedings, and most aspects of modern criminal procedure activities are connected with it. The cognitive character of the proving process presupposes the use of multiple methods, the most complex and significant of which is the method of presuming. This method of legal technique is well represented in the Russian legislation. At the same time, legal science and the theory of criminal procedure law, which have multiple definitions of legal or lawful presumption reflecting various aspects of the concept under consideration, do not contain a unified approach to understanding its essence. This situation distorts the meaning of the definition of legal presumption and leads the situation when some authors and practicing lawyers use the word “presumption” to refer to legal norms that are not, in fact, legal presumptions. The authors describe the concept, meaning and key elements of the contents (features) of legal presumption as a method of legal technique that influenced the formation and development of modern Russian criminal procedure legislation.

Tłumacz ustny w postępowaniu karnym

Interpreter in Criminal Proceeding
 This article presents the role of an interpreter in criminal proceedings, Polish and international regulations governing the obligation to appoint an interpreter for criminal procedural activities, the problems of interpreters’ cooperation with justice authorities, and the results of a survey on the experiences of sworn interpreters who provide interpreting services to the Police, the prosecutor’s office, and the courts in criminal proceedings in the following aspects: ensuring safety in the course of the activities, expectations of foreigners and authorities’ representatives towards the interpreter, preparing the interpreter’s work station and ensuring appropriate working conditions, as well as agreeing upon an appropriate remuneration for interpreters. A total of fifty-five sworn interpreters who regularly provide interpreting services to justice authorities took part in the survey. Their task was to complete a questionnaire consisting of fourteen questions, half of which were closed single-choice questions and the rest were open-ended questions.

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Abstract. The purpose of the conducted research is to clarify the content, role and structure of collecting activities. Despite the fact that these issues were covered in a number of scientific papers, but there was still no unity of positions on them in the legal literature. The research methods are to generalize the positions of legal scholars on the essence of collecting evidence, its structure and components, as well as the analysis of practical activities on collecting evidence, which is regulated by the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine. The results of the research are that the collection of evidence in criminal proceedings should be considered as a separate and independent element of criminal procedural activity on proving. It has been established that the collection of evidence is carried out in a procedural form (clearly defined procedure and methods of implementation) due to the accomplishment by the subjects of proving (prosecution and defense parties) of the relevant actions. The structure of the activity on collecting evidence has been offered to include actions on detecting and recording, demanding and obtaining and preserving evidence. It has been determined that the collection of evidence contributes to the fulfillment of the tasks of criminal proceedings due to the creation of conditions for the formation of a sufficient set of relevant, admissible and reliable evidence. The author of the article has paid attention to the fact that different approaches � "procedural" (the emphasis on procedural manifestations of this activity, subjects of proving, regulation by the norms of procedural law) and "forensic" (the emphasis on practical actions � elements of collecting evidence) are used in the science of criminal procedure and criminalistics science while defining the concept of "collection of evidence". Although, both approaches are somewhat different from each other, they describe the same phenomenon. Therefore, it is advisable to combine these approaches in order to understand the collection of evidence from the methodological point of view. The results of the research facilitate to specify theoretical structure of collecting evidence within criminal proceedings as a separate element of proving. Proper, clear and comprehensive legal regulation of the content of actions on collecting evidence will contribute to the further development of criminal judicial proceedings in Ukraine as an effective mean of protecting individuals, society and the state from criminal offenses. Key words: criminal procedure, proving, detention of evidence, evidence recording, obtaining evidence, evidence preservation, collection of evidence, evidence, tasks of criminal proceedings.

International Legal Framework in Criminal Procedural Activities: Concept and Features

International Legal Framework in Criminal Procedural Activities: Concept and Features

Anti-patterns in criminal proceedings: forms of fixation in criminal proceedings

The form of the evidentiary process also determines the form of administration of justice. The question of which was investigated in the article is a usual aspiration to improve the process of proving, thanks to the change of the procedural form of fixation in criminal proceedings. So far, the main means of fixing the course and results of a procedural action is a protocol. Even if the legislator necessarily provides video recording as an alternative form of fixation (for example, during the search), the protocol remains the main means of documenting the procedural actions of the body of pre-trial investigation. In the article the author tries to show the dependence of criminal procedural activity of subjects of proving and the court from the protocol, the influence of this means to the modern process of proving and makes a conclusion that the mentioned «pattern» is a bad decision in law-enforcement activity, that is antipattern. In addition, the evolution of the protocol as a form of fixation in criminal cases (pre-revolutionary period and the Soviet time), as well as a certain comparison of the existing procedural legislation of Ukraine and Western European countries in terms of forms of fixation in criminal proceedings and the impact of such forms on the process of proving is studied in a certain way. With the development of technology, as well as with the existing modern digital technology, including in the daily life of every person, it would be obvious to change this form of recording of criminal proceedings to audio-video recording. In addition to the effectiveness of such a means, the saving of procedural time of the preliminary investigation and the court should be taken into account. As for the issue of informativeness and preservation of information for the future, the advantages in such a form are obvious. Behind the antipattern there is always a place for a pattern, which, due to reasonable patterns, will be able to provide the state policy in the field of criminal prosecution with effective forms of means of proof. Keywords: criminal procedure, criminal procedure, criminal procedural activity, forms of proof, anti-pattern.

QUALITATIVE COMPONENT IN THE WORK OF PROCEDURAL ENTITIES AS A FACTOR OF EFFICIENCY OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Every human activity, regardless of its nature, type and other specifics, strives to achieve the highest possible efficiency. In that sense, it is necessary to observe the tendency of the efficiency of criminal proceedings in terms of clarifying and resolving certain criminal matters, as well as making a court decision. The efficiency of the criminal procedure is directly manifested and articulated through the criminal procedure activities that are undertaken by the criminal procedure subjects during the realization of the criminal procedure task. The intention of the authors is to recognize, identify and emphasize the key or most important aspects of the qualitative component in the work of the main and secondary criminal procedure subjects on which the efficiency of the criminal procedure directly depends. Also, attention and interest are focused on the mutual relationship, interaction and opposition of two tendencies, namely tendencies of efficiency of criminal procedure and tendencies of protection of basic human rights and freedoms with special reference to meeting the standard of proof in different phases of undertaking criminal proceedings.

Verification of Reports on Prison-Related Crimes in the Context of Ensuring the Rights and Legitimate Interests of Convicts

Introduction: the article considers problematic issues related to the participation of penal system officials in procedural activities to verify reports of crimes committed by convicted persons, accused persons, and suspects in correctional institutions, and puts forward proposals aimed at improving the effectiveness of these activities. Our arguments are directly related to the following: determining the moment from which the calculation of the terms of such an inspection should begin, assessing the expediency of such an inspection, actual content of the procedural actions it contains and participation of the defender in them. We come to the conclusion that penal system officials are not sufficiently motivated to use the procedural powers of the body of inquiry and participate in pre-trial proceedings in criminal cases. Moreover, they are often poorly prepared to participate in criminal procedural activities; this fact not only entails violations of the rights and legitimate interests of convicts, but also allows the latter to avoid criminal liability for new crimes committed on the territory of a correctional institution. The fact that many heads of penitentiary institutions are afraid that the number of criminally punishable actions in the territories under their control would increase also has a negative impact on the quality of procedural activity. As a result, the official criminal statistics mainly show only those prison-related offences, which cannot be hushed up. Methods: we make the following classification of the problems of responding to various violations of criminal law prohibitions by persons sentenced to imprisonment, as well as suspects and accused persons held in custody: 1) problems related to the reasons for initiating a criminal case; 2) problems related to the reasons for initiating a criminal case; 3) problems related to checking the reports of prison-related offences; 4) problems related to the adoption of final procedural decisions and the provision of qualified legal assistance to convicted persons in the implementation of verification actions. Taking into account the specifics of the problems, we put forward the ways to overcome and solve these problems. Discussion: the latency of prison offences has been and remains quite high, and the procedural activity itself carried out in connection with their commission is very far from ideal. In such conditions, there is a growing need for timely and professional response on the part of officials of correctional institutions (including pre-trial detention centers) to various violations of criminal law prohibitions committed by persons sentenced to imprisonment, as well as suspects and accused persons held in custody. Results: we prove that the above-mentioned response is mandatory and has a number of specific features, primarily due to the environment in which it is carried out.

НАЛЕЖНИЙ СПОСІБ ОТРИМАННЯ ДОКАЗІВ У КРИМІНАЛЬНОМУ ПРОЦЕСІ УКРАЇНИ КРІЗЬ ПРИЗМУ СУДОВИХ РІШЕНЬ

Recently in Ukraine, the methods of obtaining evidence during the pre-trial investigation have to to be improved, both in terms of their normative consolidation and the practice of application. Ways to improve criminal procedural activity should be planned taking into consideration the analysis of judicial practice, in particular the analysis of the evaluation of evidence in court for their relevance and admissibility. The purpose of the work is to improve the receipt of evidence in the criminal process of Ukraine in an appropriate manner, which will be a guarantee of their admissibility in court. The following methods were used: comparative – legal – to compare normative – legal regulations and court decisions relating to the recognition of evidence as appropriate and admissible in a particular criminal proceeding; formal-legal – to determine the decisions of the court concerning the evaluation of evidence in criminal proceedings; methods of logical and systematic analysis – to develop an effective proposal to improve the methods of obtaining evidence during the pre-trial investigation in Ukraine. Results. It is proposed to apply rapid tests to determine the drug substance during the detention of a person. In addition, it is proposed to ammend to Part 1 of Art. 233 of the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine, which regulates the right to break into the house or other property of a person with the voluntary consent of the person who owns them. It is proposed to consolidate the legal status of such a consent in order to avoid ambiguity of interpretation of the concept of voluntariness in court, in particular voluntary consent should be written in the form of a statement by the person himself with the obligatory indication of the relevant object of penetration. Conclusions. The appropriate method of obtaining evidence involves compliance with the procedural order of investigative (interrogative) or procedural actions. An indication of the proper way to obtain evidence is the correct choice of a specific action or a set of actions necessary for a quality investigation of criminal proceedings.

Corpus Delicti and the Subject of Proof: to the Discussion of the Relationship Between the Concepts

The authors analyze the opinions of scholars about the correlations between the categories «corpus delicti» and «subject of proof». The main object of their criticism is the idea, supported by some scholars, that the elements of corpus delicti equal the circumstances to be proven that are included in the key fact. The authors use the logical criterion to demonstrate that this claim is unsubstantiated. The circumstances stated in Clauses 1 and 2, Part 1, Art. 73 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation characterize the key features of corpus delicti only conditionally. In this connection, the key fact is the aggregate of factual circumstances that constitutes the basis of corpus delicti. In the logical aspect, the qualification of a crime is a syllogistic inference, according to which, if the essential features of the action under investigation coincide with the features of the concept of a specific crime as described in criminal law, then this crime becomes the concept of this action. According to the authors, from this standpoint it is possible to discuss not the equivalence of circumstances to be proven and corpus delicti, but only the equivalence of their essential features as determined by criminal law. They point out the specific character of criminal law and process terminology that also does not make it possible to equate the categories «corpus delicti» and «subject of proof». The significance of the existence of a formulated subject of proof in criminal procedure law and its interconnection with corpus delicti is demonstrated. It is concluded that proof in a criminal case is based on certain knowledge, which performs a methodological function. In this connection, the subject of proof, in the gnoseological sense, is a program of criminal procedure activities determined by the lawmaker. The norms of criminal law determined the parameters of criminal procedure proving, so the subject of proof is based on the criminal law characteristic of the action but does not equal it. The circumstances of the case, determined in the process of proving, are correlated with the norms of criminal law with the purpose of possible criminal law qualification of the action. Corpus delicti, determined in the criminal law, and the subject of proof, formulated in the criminal procedure law, ensure strict certainly and specification of the process of proving carried out by the preliminary investigation bodies and the court.

Legal Certainty as the Basis of Criminal Proceedings: From Theory to Legislation Improvement

The paper is devoted to an important problem of legal certainty in the Russian criminal procedural law and the criminal procedural activity regulated by it in modern conditions. These are characterized, among other things, by the development of digital technologies, in the context of improving the legal (procedural) and organizational aspects of pre-trial and judicial proceedings. The author conducts an analysis of the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, which considers the principle of legal certainty as inherent in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and as one of the fundamental manifestations of the rule of law. The author studies legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation showing that legal uncertainty leads to arbitrariness; the principle of legal certainty is generally recognized and general legal; the need to ensure the operation of the analyzed principle in the Russian legal system follows from the international obligations of the Russian Federation. It is emphasized that both legal norms and law enforcement practice must meet the principle of legal certainty. Given the legal nature of criminal proceedings, objectively characterized by the possibility of restricting the rights and legitimate interests of individuals and legal entities, the widespread use of measures of state coercion, the author, in order to increase the efficiency of the activities of the participants in criminal proceedings endowed with powers of authority and the guarantee of the rights and legitimate interests of other participants in criminal proceedings, proposes to make additions to Art. 1 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation as the first step towards solving the problems of legal certainty of pre-trial and judicial proceedings in criminal proceedings.

КЛАСИФІКАЦІЯ СТАДІЙ СУДОВОГО ПРОВАДЖЕННЯ

The article highlights the concept and essence of the judicial proceedings stages. The specific features of the proceedings stages in terms of their legal nature, functional purpose and their place in system of criminal proceedings are revealed. The correlative communications with other stages of criminal trial is proved. The article is based on the analysis of scientific sources, domestic legislation, generalization of the practice of applying legal requirements and scientific knowledge. It is found out that all stages of criminal process are considered as interactive and separate parts of criminal procedural activities that can be characterized by certain features of criminal procedural form. It is defined that features of judicial proceedings stages include range of persons, series of procedural activities and procedural decisions. Every stage is separated from one another by the final procedural decisions, which divide the previous stage from the next one, complete implementation of procedural activities specific for earlier stage and afford an opportunity to conduct following procedural activities. The article also provides an overview of the classification of judicial proceedings stages. The analysis of scientific and legal literature reveals that the procedure of bringing a person to criminal responsibility is be considered as a stage of a criminal prosecution instead of a stage of criminal proceedings. Summing up the results, it can be concluded that the system of criminal proceedings passes the following stages 1) pre-trial investigation; 2) preliminary proceeding; 3) judicial proceedings; 4) proceedings in the court of appeal; 5) execution of court decision; 6) proceedings in the court of cassation; 7) proceedings in the Supreme Court; 8) proceedings on newly discovered circumstances. Key words: stages, judicial proceedings, criminal proceedings, classification, procedural activities.

THE CONCEPT AND STRUCTURE OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROSECUTOR's SUPERVISION OVER THE ACTIVITIES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

The article proves that the concept of "Prosecutor's supervision over the activities of law enforcement agencies" is used in several aspects. This approach allows us to consider this phenomenon as a system of norms regulating public relations for checking the implementation of laws by law enforcement agencies; as criminal procedural relations; as criminal procedural activities of the prosecutor's office. The article examines the structure of the implementation of prosecutor's supervision over law enforcement agencies, which includes the following elements: the subject of implementation, the object of implementation, the means of implementation. Arguments are given in favor of the fact that the object of implementation of the prosecutor's supervision over the activities of law enforcement agencies is the activities of the prosecutor's office aimed at verifying the accuracy of the law enforcement agencies, including the application of measures of the prosecutor's response to them. The subject of implementation of the prosecutor's supervision of law enforcement agencies, which is represented by the prosecutor's office, is being studied. The article describes the means of implementing prosecutor's supervision over the activities of law enforcement agencies. The definition of this implementation process is formulated and its features are revealed, which include: the course of this implementation within the framework of prosecutor-supervisory relations; implementation in the interests of society, the state and the individual; manifestation in the form of lawful actions; reliance on a complex legal framework, the core of which is the Law on the Prosecutor's Office.

Modern Stage of Cassation Proceedings in the Criminal Process of Russia: Loss of «Exclusivity» or Strengthening of Specificity?

The cassation proceedings in the criminal procedure of the Russian Federation have undergone large-scale legislative changes both in the judicial and procedural aspects. As a result of this at the theoretical level there was a need to re-evaluate not only the internal content of the institution of cassation, but also to assess its external characteristics as a stage of criminal proceedings. The study is aimed at discussing and resolving the controversial issue of the «exceptional» nature of the stage of cassation proceedings. The semantic and procedural-legal load of the term «exclusivity» is clarified in order to establish the acceptability of using this definition as a characterizing property of the procedural stage, which is a part of ordinary criminal procedural activity. The dialectical-materialist method of cognition the objective reality was used in the present study. The main results were achieved through the use of historical-comparative, formal-logical, comparative-legal methods, methods of inferential knowledge and other methods of scientific knowledge. The term «stage exclusivity» was inherited from the Soviet period in the development of the criminal process, and now it has become outdated. The cassation appeal in criminal cases become an accessible, ordinary procedural means of redress to the citizens due to the modern abolition of the preliminary stage of consideration of the cassation appeal against the final decisions and the broad interpretation of the grounds for the cancellation of court decisions in cassation procedure. The revision basis of the cassation procedure has significantly expanded the possibilities of the cassation court to identify judicial errors of different nature, which makes the cassation proceedings an effective ordinary stage of the criminal process with its own characteristics.

Initiation of a Criminal Case: Unconditionally Abolish or Try to Understand the True Reasons for its Occurrence?

The paper deals with the problems that are the subject of longstanding scientific discussion, conducted in relation to the prospects of the stage of initiation of a criminal case as an independent stage of criminal procedural activity. Being a supporter of the principled elimination of the stage of initiating a criminal case, the author nevertheless believes that such a decision cannot be made in isolation from understanding the real reasons that prompted Soviet scientists to develop these mechanisms, and the legislator — to introduce them into the system of criminal procedural regulation. Based on the results of his previous research on the problems of pre-trial proceedings, the author believes that the emergence of the stage of initiation of a criminal case is directly related to the one that has been formed since the 1920s. The original Russian system of pre-trial proceedings that has survived to this day, expressed in the integration of the functions of the "police" and "justice" and in the vesting of the "power" ministries and departments with procedural powers of a judicial and investigative nature. In this regard, the author concludes that the question of the further fate of the stage of initiation of a criminal case can be finally resolved only in the context of a clear understanding of the prospects for the development of the entire system of Russian pre-trial proceedings.

A Comparative Legal Aspect of the Normative Definition of the Purpose of Criminal Procedure Activities

Human activity lies at the foundation of all social processes. The successful development of humanity as a whole depends on its orderly and organized character. An analysis of the structure of activity shows that scholars have not reached consensus on this point. The concept is described through such components as the goal, motives, interests, needs, means, result and the very process of activity. At the same time, philosophers agree that at its highest level of generality, activity is characte­rized through the prism of its goal and means. Choosing a goal to the achievement of which a person will dedicate his activities is called «goal-setting». If an idea cannot be implemented at once and requires a number of consecutive actions, the goal is specified through separate tasks referring to the stages of work. The unification of the goal and tasks into a whole constitutes «goal-setting». This methodological basis is applicable to all types of human activities, including the criminal procedure one. A scholarly definition of goal-setting in Russian criminal court proceedings is impossible without a comparative legal study of this issue in other countries. The author uses two universally recognized systems of law as a basis for this: the Anglo-Saxon system and the Romano-Germanic legal system. Besides, the author presents an analysis of the criminal procedure legislation of ex-USSR countries (Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan), Asian countries (the PRC, Japan) and the Middle East (Turkey). As for the legislations of the Anglo-Saxon legal family (England, Wales, the USA), only the American criminal procedure legislation states its goals and tasks. The criminal procedure laws of Austria, the FRG, France, Poland do not include the goal-setting of criminal court proceedings. The criminal procedure codes of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan state the tasks of criminal court proceedings (process), and the code of Belarus declares tasks of both the criminal procedure law and the criminal process. The criminal procedure legislations of the PRC, Japan, Turkey include the purpose, the goal and tasks. The conducted comparative legal analysis acts as a basis for corresponding conclusions that should be taken into consideration in the process of improving Russian criminal court proceedings.

The Coordination of the Law Enforcement Activities in the Fight Against Crime Safeguarding the National Security of the Russian Federation

The introductory paper by the editor-in-chief of the next issue of “Legal Concept = The Legal paradigm” is a brief justification of the relevance of the stated topic – “The modern methodology for the coordination of criminal procedure activities of the law enforcement agencies”, and also accumulates the quintessence of the knowledge presented in the scientific papers of the heading “The main topic of the issue” and the research results of the coordination of the law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime. The editorial board of the journal believes that the coordination activity being studied from the standpoint of criminal procedure science is of particular interest in the context of eliminating threats to the national security of the Russian Federation by legal methods and means. The author substantiates the urgency of the problem of ensuring and improving the interaction of the law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime, primarily, the complex criminal situation in the country. It is noted that the participation of various law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime determines the need for the systematic coordination of their efforts. The coordination of the law enforcement activities to combat crime in connection with this fact is one of the central functions of the prosecutor’s office and at the same time a mechanism to ensure the guarantee of such coordination, a tool to increase the efficiency of countering crime. The paper analyzes the scientific and practical significance of the papers that make up the heading “The main topic of the issue” and are characterized by both the theoretical and applied value. The general orientation of the papers and their distinctive features as original, creative research developments distinguished by the scientific novelty is described briefly. The multi-aspect nature of the stated topic is justified through the variety of questions formulated by the authors of the main topic. The author hopes that the collected thematic papers will be especially useful while improving the law enforcement practice in the fight against crime.