Pre-trial Investigation Bodies Research Articles

European standards of judicial control at the stage of pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings

The article examines the European standards for the judicial control at the stage of pretrial investigation in criminal proceedings, with an emphasis on the compliance of the provisions of Article 303 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine with the standards of the European Court of Human Rights. In the conditions of reforming the Ukrainian legal system with the aim of integration into the European community, the problem of ensuring effective judicial control is extremely urgent. It is proposed under the European standards of judicial control at the stage of pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings to consider a set of legal norms, principles and guarantees enshrined in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and precedent practice of the European Court of Human Rights, which ensure an effective, fair and legal judicial review and control over the actions, decisions or inaction of pre-trial investigation bodies for the purpose of protecting the rights and freedoms of a person. Groups of European standards in criminal proceedings are highlighted: firstly, standards relating to the legality of detention and detention, secondly, standards relating to the reasonableness of suspicion, thirdly, standards of effectiveness of pre-trial investigation, fourthly, standards of access to justice in criminal proceedings. It has been established that part of the standard of access to justice is the standard of effectiveness of judicial control. It has been proven that the standard of effectiveness of judicial control at the stage of pre-trial investigation is, in our opinion, an important element of access to justice, as it ensures: protection of the rights of individuals at the stage of pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings, transparency and accountability of the process, prevention of human rights violations, appeal of procedural decisions. It was concluded that although Article 303 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine provides tools for judicial control, the existing mechanisms do not always meet European standards due to problems of access to justice and speed of trial. The need to implement international standards is to ensure effective protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens and to strengthen trust in the judicial system of Ukraine. The work emphasizes that further adaptation of national legislation to European requirements will contribute to increasing the effectiveness of judicial control at the pre-trial investigation stage.

Legal principles of pre-trial investigation war crimes

The modern legal principles of the activity of law enforcement agencies regarding the investigation of war crimes have been defined. It is emphasized that war crimes are complex in terms of their mechanism of commission, which is characterized by consequences in the form of significant destruction of civilian infrastructure objects, a large number of unidentified dead; instruments of commission, which neither pre-trial investigation bodies nor forensic experts have encountered before; by persons of criminals who change their locations, including those who are in the territory of another state, etc. It is noted that in Ukraine since the declaration of the legal regime of martial law by the Decree of the President of Ukraine, significant changes have taken place in the criminal procedural legislation, which established a special regime of pre-trial investigation and trial under martial law conditions, provided for in Section IX-1 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. It is noted that the pre-trial investigation of war crimes requires considerable expenditure of resources, including human resources, due to which employees of various law enforcement agencies, including units of the National Police, are involved in carrying out certain procedural actions. Legal problems in the activities of the National Police of Ukraine regarding the organizational features of the pre-trial investigation that need to be resolved at the legislative and departmental levels are highlighted. Proposals are made to improve the legislation on the regulation of the term “war crime” in the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The requirements regarding the procedure for collecting evidence of war crimes for the purpose of further transfer of materials for consideration by the International Criminal Court have been updated. Attention is focused on the fact that the principles, subjects and forms of interaction at the national and international levels during the pre-trial investigation of war crimes should be properly regulated. During the writing of the article, the methods of dialectics, comparative legal and systemic analysis, and formal logic were used.

Peculiarities of evidence in the course of investigation of criminal offences under parts 1, 2 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine

The scientific search for the peculiarities of evidence in the course of investigation of criminal offences under Parts 1 and 2 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is due to the fact that with the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, collaborationism at the level of national legislation, scientific doctrine and higher legal education has acquired a fundamentally new meaning. It is also advisable to take into account the fact that the historical basis of collaboration is treason, the normative consolidation of which has its roots in Roman law. Information and psychological operations, dissemination of relevant narratives to the formation of attitudes and orientations among the population, which may later become the basis for committing criminal offences under Parts 1, 2 of Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. At the level of changes in the criminal procedure legislation, current trends and approaches to pre-trial investigation, the basic principles and features of pre-trial investigation of collaboration activities have been rethought. It is substantiated that in modern conditions, evidence in the course of investigation of criminal offences under Parts 1, 2 of Art. 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is inseparable from taking into account the features of modern equipment which can be used for information transmission, analysis of computer information and information from correspondence, channels and groups in social networks containing valuable information, samples of signatures, seals and other details of documents which reflect information about the collaboration activities of individuals and groups. Other relevant features of evidence in the course of investigation of criminal offences under parts 1, 2 of Art. 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine include: the need to conduct as many investigative (search) and procedural actions as possible, including specific forensic examinations, of which one of the most common is the technical examination of document details; interaction of pre-trial investigation bodies and the public in the course of exchange of orientation information of investigative and inquiry units with volunteers, local activists, representatives of NGOs, writers, representatives of the scientific and creative intelligentsia, i.e. conscious and patriotic citizens who refused to cooperate with the occupation administration during the occupation and actively resisted it. Such interaction in the specific security conditions of martial law does not necessarily require face-to-face communication. Public messages on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, which may contain information about persons involved in collaboration activities, their relationships with local residents and/or the occupation administration, etc., have significant potential for providing orientation information.

Application of specialised knowledge in the investigation of collaborative activitу: practical aspects

The article substantiates the position that in the course of investigation of collaboration activities, it is important to involve competent persons in criminal proceedings. The author emphasizes that digital traces have a significant evidentiary potential, which, based on the results of expert research, i.e., on the basis of the implementation of procedural forms of using special knowledge, become the basis for obtaining procedural sources of evidence in criminal proceedings. It is determined that it is inadmissible during the investigation to neglect the prospects of these forms of use of special knowledge or to neglect the stage of preparation for the appointment of these examinations. It is noted that this may lead to the loss of evidentiary potential of certain material and digital objects. In this regard, an indispensable condition at the stage of preparation for the appointment of these expert examinations is to take measures to collect comparative samples for expert examination, to record them procedurally in the criminal proceedings and to send a qualified expert authorised to conduct this type of expert examination in a timely manner. Based on the study of law enforcement and expert practice and taking into account the provisions of theoretical research, the opportunities of modern expert research in proving the circumstances to be established in the course of investigation of collaboration activities are determined. Based on the results of the analysis of expert opinions, the study identifies typical mistakes that occur in the practical activities of pre-trial investigation bodies and provides recommendations for eliminating such shortcomings which affect the ability to solve expert tasks in particular and tactical tasks of investigation in general. Based on a generalisation of the expert examinations most often ordered in the course of investigation of collaboration activities, it is determined that comparative samples and objects sent for expert examination should be prepared, obtained and sometimes even manufactured in compliance with the following recommendations: 1) to ensure their receipt in the manner prescribed by the criminal procedural legislation; 2) to send for expert examination only those objects that meet the requirements of completeness and reliability, and in the case of portrait and handwriting examination – also comparison; 3) to seek advice from a forensic expert in the absence of the initiator of the expert examination of the necessary knowledge of the peculiarities of the preparation of comparative samples, as well as other information that should be communicated to the future expert.

Notification of suspicion on the web page of the General Prosecutor’s Office and in the newspaper “Uryadovyi Kurier”: requirements and algorithm of publication

The study is aimed at analysing the legal acts establishing the procedure for publishing notices of suspicion on the website of the Prosecutor General’s Office and in the newspaper “Uryadovyi Kurier” and notices of suspicion already published in these sources, determining the requirements for them and developing an algorithm for publication for prosecutors and investigators. The author uses the methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparative legal, formal and logical, systemic and structural, graphical and other methods of scientific research. The article establishes that the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine defines the obligation of an investigator or prosecutor to serve a notice of suspicion by publishing it on the website of the Office of the Prosecutor General and in the mass media of national distribution. This method of delivery is possible for both general and special pre-trial investigation regimes. It is emphasised that the notice of suspicion to be published on the website and in the mass media of the national sphere of distribution have differences in content, format, data that may be made public, and place of publication. In order to prevent possible violations, the requirements for suspicion notifications are detailed and visualised in the form of a table. It is found that the procedure for publishing notices of suspicion for investigators and prosecutors is different. The author identifies the stages required for publishing notices of suspicion for investigators and prosecutors and develops appropriate algorithms. The findings of the study can be used in lawmaking activities in the development and improvement of regulations on this topic, in practical activities by investigators of pre-trial investigation bodies, prosecutors when serving a person with a notice of suspicion, in scientific activities to continue research in this area, in educational activities to prepare materials for teaching students, cadets, trainees in legal specialties and for advanced training of investigators and prosecutors.

Ensuring the legal interests of a person in pre-trial criminal proceedings

In the science of the criminal process, there is no unified vision of the essence of a person’s legitimate interests and guarantees of their provision at the stage of pre-trial investigation. Ensuring a legitimate interest at the stage of pre-trial criminal proceedings is not supported by the performance of duties by other participants. An effective guarantee of the realization of a person’s legitimate interests in pre-trial criminal proceedings should be the real possibility of going to court to challenge the decisions, actions or inaction of law enforcement agencies. The presence of such a legal possibility should stimulate law enforcement agencies to take active actions aimed at satisfying legitimate interests. The criminal procedural law must provide for a mechanism to protect the legal interests of a person, both those that directly follow from the criminal procedural norms and those that are not provided for by the criminal procedural law, but are consistent with the spirit and principles of criminal justice. It can be argued that the legitimate interests of a person in pre-trial criminal proceedings are general legal and not prohibited aspirations of a person. Ensuring the legal interests of a person at the pre-trial stage of the criminal process should be ensured by a general obligation (general obligation) to take active actions by state bodies aimed at ensuring legal interests. The guarantee of the realization of the legal interests of a person in pre-trial criminal proceedings is the legal regulation in the criminal procedural law of the procedure for judicial appeal of decisions, actions or inaction of law enforcement bodies (including pre-trial investigation bodies) that prevent the realization of general legal aspirations of a person at the pre-trial stage of criminal proceedings. The need for regulatory regulation of the procedure for judicial protection of legitimate interests is determined by their legal nature, which provides for regularities in the actions of the participants of criminal proceedings of an undefined nature.

Intentional killing as a result of violation of of the laws and customs of war in the context of ill-treatment of prisoners of war

The creative impetus for conducting scientific research on the topic of the study was a rather underdeveloped layer of activity of pre-trial investigation bodies in documenting a certain category of war crimes. At present, we are talking about violations of the laws and customs of war in the context of studying one of the forms of the objective side of a criminal offense - cruel treatment of prisoners of war combined with premeditated murder. Considering the difficult situation with the release of Azovstal’s defenders into “honorable captivity,” a decision that was made at a high state level and lasted from May 16 to 21, 2022, it should be noted that all expectations regarding the implementation of the humanitarian component in accordance with the norms of International Humanitarian Law have not been met. So far, we have received completely different consequences of the desired rescue of the military, who were actually trapped in an enemy trap. Thus, on the night of July 29, 2022, in the former Volnovakha Penal Colony No. 120, located in the village of Molodizhne of the Olenivka Village Council of the Donetsk region (temporarily occupied territory), Russian occupation forces committed a terrorist act, which, according to official data, killed 53 and wounded more than 130 prisoners of war from among the defenders of Azovstal. According to the Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, “This is a public execution of officially confirmed, verified Ukrainian prisoners of war who were taken prisoner. According to the Geneva Convention, they were confirmed through the verification procedure by the International Committee of the Red Cross. They were representatives of one military unit of the National Guard of Ukraine...” Unfortunately, due to the complicated and actually suspended exchange of prisoners of war by the occupation authorities, cases of murder (extrajudicial executions) and torture of our military in captivity have become more frequent. Therefore, one of the main tasks of pre-trial investigation bodies should be to tactically correctly and timely document a war crime that is rather complex in its design – violation of the laws and customs of war in the form of ill-treatment of prisoners of war, if it is combined with intentional murder. The timely and correct qualification of such an act should help improve the tactics and methods of investigation by addressing the practical challenges that arise during the pre-trial investigation. First and foremost, it is necessary to ensure clear interaction between several law enforcement agencies (the National Police of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine), whose activities overlap in the plane of jurisdiction. Law enforcement agencies should not only continue each other’s work, but also initiate pre-trial investigations with a clear understanding of the basic algorithm of coordinated actions to prevent loss of evidence with the possibility of further use of the collected evidence in the International Criminal Court. Judicial practice on this issue is currently being formed, but despite this, it is necessary to create and develop a unified algorithm of actions that should be based on the exclusive legality of the evidence obtained. The scientific research conducted in this under-researched area, reinforced by practical experience, will contribute to a deeper understanding of the issues of peculiarities of criminal law qualification and tactics of certain procedural actions during pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings on the facts of violation of the laws and customs of war, if they are combined with premeditated murder, where the form of the objective side is cruel treatment of prisoners of war. The provisions proposed in this article are intended to be recommendatory for synergy in the work of specialists of pre-trial investigation units and the prosecutor’s office in formulating an algorithm for proving the above facts.

Pre-trial investigation in the de-occupied territories: normative regulation and prospects for implementation

The state of normative regulation of the pre-trial investigation procedure was studied, as well as the prospects for its implementation after the de-occupation of Ukrainian territories were clarified. It was emphasized that the raised issue requires qualitative discussion by representatives of various institutions of criminal justice. It is important in this direction to build effective algorithms for pre-trial investigation bodies, the prosecutor’s office, the court, which cannot be implemented without the introduction of new legislative initiatives. Based on the analysis of the state of normative and legal regulation, it was found that currently, at the level of current criminal procedural legislation, the issue of the fate of criminal proceedings after de-occupation has not been settled. The issue of the procedure for carrying out criminal proceedings in which materials are lost, in particular destroyed in the occupied territory, is also not defined. Currently, there are draft laws (in particular, prepared by the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union), which can be taken into account when improving the legislation in this direction. Currently, there are many questions regarding the procedure for conducting pre-trial investigations in the de-occupied territories. In particular, this is a question of evaluating the evidence obtained by the occupation authorities; terms in criminal proceedings that were initiated by national bodies of pre-trial investigation and were not completed at the time of occupation; restoration of lost materials of criminal proceedings. Special attention is paid to the issue of evaluation of the evidence obtained by the occupation authorities and arguments are given in favor of the position regarding the inadmissibility of such evidence. The necessity of standardizing the procedure for restoring (full or partial) lost materials of criminal proceedings (both materials of pre-trial investigation and materials of court proceedings) has been proven.

PROBLEMATIC ASPECTS IN THE INVESTIGATION OF WAR CRIMES

This article examines the problematic aspects that arise during the investigation of war crimes, focusing on identifying the main challenges and developing recommendations to overcome them. It analyzes the difficulties faced by investigative bodies in collecting evidence, the legal and procedural barriers that complicate the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators. Special attention is given to the role of international law and the cooperation of interstate organizations in improving the effectiveness of investigations. As a result of the research, specific recommendations are proposed to enhance the quality of war crime investigations and strengthen the rule of law at the international level. The research on this topic analyzes the works of scholars such as I. Hlovyuk, V. Zavtur, N. Lashchuk, V. Navrotskaya, M. Pashkovsky, R. Serkevich, N. Ustritskaya, and others. Greater attention is paid to current legislative acts and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The issue of exchanging prisoners of war in Ukraine is regulated by various normative legal acts, including the ICC RS and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (CPCU). The appendix to Article 3 of the CPCU establishes that a person who has the procedural status of a suspect, accused, or convicted can be exchanged as a prisoner of war. Amendments to the CPCU regarding the interrogation of persons for whom a decision on exchange has been made do not contain substantive additions or clarifications, which may lead to inappropriate application of these provisions. Although the CPCU does not contain a separate norm regarding the procedural status of prisoners of war, the legislator has made changes to regulate the exchange of persons during martial law, which became possible thanks to the law dated July 28, 2022. Despite the legislator’s attempts to improve the procedure for exchanging prisoners of war, some aspects remain complex, which may violate the principle of legality and the rule of law. Ukraine, even without being a state party to the ICC RS, is obliged to cooperate with this international body in accordance with Article 12(3) of this statute. The presence of implementing legislation that regulates national cooperation procedures is a prerequisite for the comprehensive fulfilment of Ukraine’s obligations to the ICC. Better definition of the statuses of participants in criminal proceedings, particularly those for whom the ICC’s request for co-operation has been received, as well as the regulatory establishment of the status of prisoners of war, is needed. Ukrainian prosecutors and pre-trial investigation bodies should adhere to the specifics provided by the ICC Rules of Evidence when conducting interrogations of witnesses, suspects, and victims. Failure to take appropriate actions during interrogations may lead to the recognition of interrogation protocols as inadmissible evidence, which will reduce the number of high-quality evidence on the part of the prosecution.

International experience in regulating of the pre-judicial investigation bodies jurisdictions

The article is devoted to the study of the concept and legal implementation of the institution of the pre-judicial investigation bodies jurisdictions in Ukraine and the legal systems of European countries and the USA.
 Analyzed the approaches to determining responsibility and the peculiarities of the organizational component of responsibility of pre-trial investigation bodies are also described.
 It is noted that the lack of detailed legal regulation of the institution of liability in Ukrainian legislation determines it necessary to search for approaches in scientific doctrine, as well as practical solutions based on the example of existing legal systems of other countries.
 The article analyzes that, similar to the provisions of Ukrainian legislation, the definition of the concept of jurisdiction in various legal systems is quite rare. In addition, the analysis of different jurisdictions indicates the similarity of approaches to understanding the rules of jurisdiction. Similar to the Ukrainian legislation, the aspect of determining and changing responsibility belongs to the powers of the prosecutor’s office.
 It was noted that one of the main differences between pre-trial investigation bodies jurisdiction in Ukraine and in other European countries (Germany, France, and England) and the United States is the presence in Ukraine of institutionally separated subjects, in addition to the police, which are authorized to carry out pre-trial investigations.
 The legal norms that indicate the rules of jurisdiction determine the direction of activity of pre-trial investigation bodies, but unfortunately there is no regulation of the relationship between the investigation and compliance with the relevant jurisdiction. Moreover, the tendency to increase the number of pre- trial investigation bodies requires detailed legal regulation and clear procedural and procedural norms which would provide an opportunity to avoid a conflict of jurisdiction for pre-trial investigation bodies.
 Also was analyzed the European Union experience in solving the problem of the conflict of jurisdictions of bodies that carry out pre-trial investigation of member states. As part of this was described the work of the Eurojust which is authorized to solve problems with the specified conflicts of jurisdictions.
 Separately the article points out the relationship between violations of jurisdiction and the doctrine of «fruits of the poisoned tree» using the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and individual European countries as an example.

Interaction of law enforcement agencies within the framework of international cooperation during the gathering electronic evidence of the commission of a crime

The article deals with issues related to the interaction of law enforcement agencies within the framework of international cooperation during the gathering of electronic evidence of the commission of a crime. Some aspects of the procedural order of providing/receiving a request for international legal assistance and the procedural activities of joint investigative groups have been analyzed.
 Such features of electronic evidence of the commission of a crime as resistance to external interference and the time of preservation of electronic information on a certain medium, which directly affect the vectors of interaction of law enforcement agencies, are singled out.
 Attention was drawn to certain normative and legal provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine; Instructions on the organization of the interaction of pretrial investigation bodies with other bodies and units of the National Police of Ukraine in the prevention of criminal offenses, their detection and investigation; of the Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime, which relate to issues of law enforcement cooperation and international cooperation.
 The shortcomings of the legal consolidation of certain procedural actions within the framework of international cooperation, which affect the subject of interaction of law enforcement agencies during the gathering of electronic evidence of the commission of a crime, in particular in emergency situations, are indicated. It was established that as a result of gaps in the law, which relate to the procedure for collecting electronic evidence during the investigation of crimes, in some cases, law enforcement agencies are forced to find ways to interact with other subjects on a voluntary basis. However, in the absence of voluntary consent from the other party, such an approach is not effective, and in combination with the overly bureaucratic order of international cooperation, the time spent on its compliance and the peculiarities of electronic evidence may lead to the loss of such evidence.
 Taking into account the shortcomings of the legislation, appropriate proposals for amendments and additions to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine were provided.

International standards for the application of the presumption of innocence in criminal proceedings

The presumption of innocence is an internationally recognized standard of criminal justice. However, law enforcement practice shows a lack of legal certainty regarding the understanding and implementation of certain provisions of this principle of criminal proceedings. The purpose of the publication is to identify and systematize the internationally recognized standards of guaranteeing the right to the presumption of innocence. The study used such methods of cognition as comparison, analysis, generalization, and a systematic approach, which made it possible to describe the results and substantiate the conclusions drawn. It is determined that, according to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, the purpose of the presumption of innocence is to: ensure a fair trial by preventing accusatory judicial bias; prevent the formation of premature public opinion regarding the guilt/innocence of the accused, which may adversely affect the impartiality of the court; and protect persons who have been acquitted or whose proceedings have been closed on rehabilitative grounds. Ensuring the presumption of innocence requires ensuring that this right is real, not imaginary. It is established that when determining whether the principle of presumption was violated by public officials when informing the public about the progress of criminal proceedings, the European Court of Human Rights takes into account whether the officials' statement prompted the public to believe in the guilt of the person before the court passed a verdict and whether these statements could have influenced the assessment of the facts when making a court decision. When assessing statements made by public officials, it is necessary to distinguish between a statement of suspicion of committing a criminal offence and a statement that a person has committed a criminal offence in the absence of a conviction; to consider the context in which the statement was made and to take into account the actual content of the statements. The author substantiates the rules of the presumption of innocence in time: it is valid until the court verdict enters into force; a guilty verdict does not cancel a person's right to the presumption of innocence until it enters into force; the adoption of an acquittal or the closure of criminal proceedings on rehabilitative grounds requires that a person be found innocent and treated accordingly. The study will ensure unified law enforcement practice of pre-trial investigation bodies, prosecutors, and courts in respect of compliance with the rules of the presumption of innocence, which will contribute to the rule of law

Specificity of special knowledge use by the defense attorney in criminal proceedings

This paper outlines the study of special knowledge use by defense attorney in criminal proceedings and its specificity. It is noted that defense effectiveness is directly determined by correct tactical decisions made within the criminal proceedings, namely structuring the defense algorithm to achieve the desired result. Selection of such tactical solutions depends, in particular, on the level of defender’s special knowledge or one’s awareness regarding its application by other authorized parties.
 The aim of this paper is to determine the specificity of special knowledge use in criminal proceedings by the defense attorney.
 Paper provides a linguistic and academic interpretation of the «special knowledge» concept. Authors note that it is necessary to take into account the purpose of its use (that is, not only for investigation, solving or prevention of criminal offenses, but also for the protection of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the suspect, accused and other subjects under Article 45 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine) while defining the content of the specified concept. Attention is also paid to forms of special knowledge application by the defense attorney in criminal proceedings. It is emphasized that one may support the investigative process and justification of defense position based on the opinion of a specialist or expert with such justification grounded for the prosecution party.
 Author concludes that specificity of special knowledge use by the defense attorney in criminal proceedings stipulates: ability to directly apply it (independently), but with limits in comparison to pre-trial investigation bodies, and indirectly (involve a specialist or forensic expert (or request their opinions) via an investigator, inquirer, prosecutor, investigating judge, court to); use of knowledge backed by well-known constitutional principle «everything is allowed unless expressly prohibited by law» - authorized persons of pre-trial investigation bodies, though, use it only in accordance with a specific clause from a legal act of a different hierarchical level (based on legal force).

Legislative Innovations in Pre-trial Investigation and Judicial Examination of Criminal Cases

The article is dedicated to the analysis and assessment of legislative innovations introduced into the procedures of pre-trial investigation and judicial examination of criminal cases. A comprehensive analysis of the regulatory framework governing this area is conducted, taking into account recent changes and amendments.
 The article discusses key changes aimed at enhancing the efficiency of pre-trial investigation and judicial examination of criminal cases, as well as safeguarding the rights and legitimate interests of participants in the criminal process. Special attention is given to innovations designed to expedite case proceedings, ensuring, transparency and justice in the administration of justice.
 Within the scope of the conducted research, prospects for implementing the aforementioned legislative novelties into the practice of investigation and adjudication of criminal cases are identified. The authors provide well-founded recommendations for further potential directions in refining legislation in this area to enhance the efficiency and fairness of criminal justice.
 The article aims to determine optimal strategies and practical measures to support the integration of positive changes into the judicial system, particularly by incentivizing ethical conduct among pre-trial investigation bodies and the prosecution.
 The conclusions of the article not only help identify shortcomings in legislation but also offer constructive recommendations for overcoming challenges in the field of justice, contributing to the development of legislation for the effective protection of citizens’ rights in contemporary conditions.
 This article serves as a significant contribution to understanding and discussing the impact of innovations on the criminal process, and it may be valuable for practicing lawyers, researchers, and legislators interested in the field of criminal law and procedure.

Forensic Veterinary Medicine Methods for Determining Defects in Veterinary Care

This research paper purpose is to develop forensic veterinary medicine to determine defects in veterinary care. General and special scientific methods were used to achieve the goal. The author’s methods of forensic veterinary medicine of defects in veterinary care carried out in five stages: familiarization and training one, managerial and informational ones, research and analytical ones, generalization and evaluation ones and final one. It has been proven that the forensic veterinary examination should determine the defect existence and provide conclusion on availability or lack of a cause-effect relation between the lack of veterinary care and a negative consequence for the animal and the main cause of such a consequence. Attention is focused on the fact that the forensic veterinary commission should assess timeliness, volume and validity of performed diagnostic and medical and tactical veterinary measures, correctness of surgical interventions or veterinary manipulations and their compliance with current regulatory documents. It is substantiated that the proposed author’s methods unify approaches to forensic research, minimizes subjectivity of forensic assessment of actions of veterinarians; expands the cognitive capabilities of pre-trial investigation bodies and the court; contributes to improvement of criminal and administrative legislation of Ukraine in terms of legal responsibility of veterinary workers for professional offenses. The key issues arising due to improper performance of professional duties by veterinarians are highlighted and ways to their solving are proposed.

Improving the process of investigating industrial accidents using the focal object method

One of the important tasks of implementing the state policy in the field of labor protection is to ensure prompt and objective investigation of industrial accidents. The purpose of the study is to improve the quality of legal support for the investigation process and the objectivity of accident investigation. The article deals with the issues of improving the process of investigation of industrial accidents using heuristic methods, in particular, the method of focal objects. The process of applying the focal object method is investigated, indicating all the main stages and key properties of random objects. A brief review of the authors' publications on improving the process of investigating industrial accidents is made. The author considers the issues of interrelation between the processes of special investigation and investigation within criminal proceedings. The author analyzes the works of researchers on the possibility of using heuristic methods to obtain new modifications of methods and processes by applying the focal object method. As a result of the analysis of modern research methods, the author substantiates the possibility and effectiveness of applying the focal object method not only to objects, but also to processes, in particular, to the process of accident investigation. The article proposes a set of tools for obtaining, forming and evaluating ideas through free associations that arise in the process of combining various properties of focal objects. An approach to the formation of individual elements and the structure of the composition of key properties of random objects is proposed. The results of research based on the obtained ideas are presented in the form of specific useful solutions. The author indicates the ways of synchronizing the processes of special investigation carried out by the accident investigation commission and the investigation carried out within the framework of criminal proceedings by pre-trial investigation bodies. The author also considers the issues of developing strategies and measures aimed at improving the process of legal support for the investigation of industrial accidents

Dactyloscopic accounting in Ukraine: legal regulation and development trends

In the process of performing their duties, employees of the National Police of Ukraine are constantly faced with the task of identifying a person based on biometric data. One of the types of such identification is identification by fingerprints. According to the current legislation, the National Police fills and maintains up-to-date registers and data bases (banks) that are part of the unified information system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, including collecting biometric data of individuals through fingerprinting.
 Automated dactyloscopic identification systems are also used in expert services. In addition, information on the biometric characteristics of a person is also contained in the State Migration Service of Ukraine, which is a subdivision of the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. It ensures maintenance of the Unified State Demographic Register, where biometric data (parameters) of a person are recorded. The latter means digitized fingerprints, digitized face image.
 Thus, pretrial investigation bodies within the framework of criminal proceedings in order to obtain information about the biometric parameters of a person can turn to specialists not only of the Expert Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, but also to the Department of Information and Analytical Support of the National Police of Ukraine, the State Migration Service of Ukraine.
 The Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine defines only the procedure for taking biological samples from a person for examination as part of criminal proceedings. The rules of collection, accumulation, storage, use and destruction of biometric data are disclosed only in secondary legal acts, which have many contradictions among themselves. Unfortunately, in our country there are cases when the information contained in the information and search systems of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine is not deleted in a timely manner, which violates the rights and freedoms of citizens.
 Therefore, the legal regulation of the collection of biometric data is extremely important and relevant, as many issues remain unsettled at the legislative level.
 Today, the current system of automated dactyloscopic records of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine needs technical improvement and legal regulation of data collection with respect for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The authors propose to resolve the issue of legal support for dactyloscopic registration and other biometric data by adopting a law on biometric registration, which would define its types, the order of formation and use. Researchers consider it necessary to implement multimodal biometric technologies that can search for several biometric parameters with the possibility of combining them.

Peculiarities of the procedural status of the subject authorized to carry out pre-trial investigation of criminal offenses

In the article, based on the study of the norms of domestic legislation, the analysis of the practice of investigation of criminal offenses, as well as scientific works on the relevant subject, the legal basis of the activity of investigation units, their functions, rights, duties and powers is defined. Attention is focused on the most problematic aspects of the procedural status of subjects authorized to investigate criminal misdemeanors. It is emphasized that the provisions on granting the authorized person of other subdivisions the authority to conduct inquiries are laid out without taking into account the principle of legal certainty (Article 8 of the Constitution of Ukraine). It is emphasized that the provisions of Art. 19 and 92 of the Constitution of Ukraine provides for the definition of the organization and activity of pre-trial investigation bodies exclusively by the laws of Ukraine, at the same time, the key regulator of the activity of investigation units in the system of the National Police of Ukraine is a subordinate legal act, and the Law of Ukraine “On the National Police” does not separately define the issue of the organization and activity of units inquiry of the NP of Ukraine. Attention was drawn to the inconsistency of the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which fix the powers of inquirers in terms of the possibility of conducting investigative (search) actions, in particular, clause 3, part 2 of Article 401 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine records the powers of the investigator to conduct or entrust their conduct to other subjects, while certain articles of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine do not directly provide for the right of the investigator to apply for the conduct of, for example, a search, because in Part 3 of Art. 234 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the inquirer is not mentioned as a subject who can apply to the investigating judge with a corresponding request (as an investigator or prosecutor). It was established that in practice this leads to an ambiguous position of investigative judges in granting such requests. It was concluded that the legal regulation of the activities of entities authorized to carry out inquiries currently requires improvement, primarily by making changes to the legislative acts that determine the procedural status of the specified persons.

Ensuring the rights of a victim the course of preventive measures application in criminal proceedings

The article analyzes problems of ensuring the rights of a victim when choosing preventive measures in criminal proceedings. The position has been argued, according to which the victim, his representative and a legal representative have the right to participate in hearing of a motion for the application of preventive measures by an investigating judge or a judge and to appeal the decisions made by the court. It has been established that when adopting the judgement on preventive measures, the rights and legitimate interests of the victim are affected, including those related to the need to protect his personal safety from threats by the suspect or to ensure compensation for material damage caused by the crime, in that case he, his representative and the legal representative have the right to bring to pre-trial investigation bodies, a prosecutor and an investigating judge notice, their position regarding the selection, extension, change, cancellation of this or that preventive measure against the suspect, as well as to appeal the decision. Herewith, the possibility of an appeal cannot depend on whether the victim directly participated in the court hearing. Likewise, the victim and his representative have the right to become familiar with those materials on the basis of which the decision is made. When an investigating judge considers a motion for the application of preventive measures, the victim, his representative, and the legal representative must have the right to file a motion, including the one on the detention of the suspect, on cancellation or replacement of this preventive measure with another, to participate directly in the court consideration of a motion submitted by them or other participants in the petition process, to appear before the court and present their position and arguments, to appeal the decision of the investigating judge to the court of appeal. Proposals are made regarding the expediency of eliminating legislative conflicts by making appropriate normative corrections, namely to supplement Part 1 of Art. 193, Parts 1 and 2 of Art. 331 of the Criminal Procedure Code and Part 3 of Art. 315 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, provisions that will provide the right to a victim, his legal representative and a representative to apply for the choosing, change, cancellation, extension of the preventive measure against a suspect, an accused, as well as to appeal the relevant decision of an investigating judge, a court in the appeal procedure.

Особливості дистанційного кримінального провадження в умовах воєнного стану

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of remote criminal proceedings caused by the introduction of martial law on the territory of Ukraine. The importance and relevance of the issue of the use of the video conference mode in the criminal process during the war are outlined. The article analyzes the legislative innovations that were established in connection with the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, in particular, the possibility of conducting remote court proceedings at the initiative of a judge or at the request of the participants in the proceedings, its implementation using the technical means of judges, lawyers, witnesses and other subjects of the process. The relevance of establishing the possibility in connection with the objective circumstances of joining the participant in the video conference mode using other means, rather than the technical means specified by the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, is substantiated. Disadvantages that are characteristic of remote criminal proceedings and give rise to certain risks of violation of the procedural form are highlighted, in particular, the lack of possibility of reliable identification of the person acting as a participant in the legal process, lack of opportunity for the accused to communicate confidentially with his lawyer, lack of clear information about the participant's awareness of his rights and obligations ties, as well as the ability to ensure the absence of outside influence, pressure on participants, impartiality and confidentiality of the judicial process. The expediency of the further use of the Custody Records system and the EasyCon communication platform in the activities of pre-trial investigation bodies, which, among other advantages, ensure a reduction of the risk of illegal influences on the participants of criminal proceedings during the conduct of procedural actions in a remote mode, is substantiated. The expediency of integrating elements of the Unified Register of Advocates of Ukraine into the "Electronic Court" subsystem, as well as the development of a mobile "eCourt" relationship, was analyzed.