Stage Of Pre-trial Investigation Research Articles

Article 70 Proceedings at the ICC: In Pursuit of the Administration of (In)Justice? - Lessons from Bemba II

On 19 October 2016 Trial Chamber VII of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) in the case of The Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, Aime Kilolo Musamba, Jean-Jacques Mangenda Kabongo, Fidele Babala Wandu and Narcisse Arido (“Bemba II”) found all five accused guilty of offences against the administration of justice under Article 70 of the Rome Statute. In this case the prosecution made use, amongst others, of privileged communications between Mr. Kilolo, Mr. Bemba’s defense counsel and Mr. Bemba. This case exposed weaknesses in the manner Article 70 investigations are conducted as regards procedural safeguards against the breach of the legal professional privilege by the prosecution’s far reaching investigatory powers. The argument put forward in this paper is that, by placing defence counsels under investigation, Article 70 proceedings heighten the possibilities for breaches of the legal professional privilege. This danger becomes apparent at different stages of the proceedings but is particularly obscure at the pre-trial investigation stage. The lack of clear rules and procedural safeguards to protect the legal professional privilege undermines the right to fair trial, which in turn harms the legitimacy of the process and by virtue thereof, the integrity of the Court.

ADVERSARIAL MODEL OF PRE-TRIAL INVESTIGATION: ILLUSIONS AND REALITY

The article analyzes certain trends in the mechanism of the adversarial process at the pre-trial investigation stage. It attempts to determine legislative changes in the regulation of the pre-trial investigation as a stage in criminal proceedings. The article also focuses on the essence of the investigation activity, the order of its implementation, the investigator’s functions and powers. At the same time any investigation has to ultimately aim at establishing the truth. The article determines the functional purposes of investigation (search) actions as well as secret investigation (search) actions and points out to certain problems and deficiencies in the course of their implementation. It dwells on the peculiarities of addressing special knowledge by various parties of the criminal proceedings (the state prosecution and the defense). The article concludes that at present the parties to the criminal trial proceedings do not have equal access to special knowledge. With this regard and taking into account the existing conditions, the article offers suggestions to optimize the investigation activity with the emphasis on the need for making criminalistic knowledge available to the pre-trial investigation and formation of an «adversarial criminalistics».

TRANSFORMATION OF INVESTIGATION ERRORS IN CRIMINAL LEGAL PRОCEEDINGS

The article deals with the notion of a judicial error which is referred to as an inconsistency between the verdict and the situation of the committed offense, the person of the offender and the eventual consequences. It also enumerates factors that may result in judicial errors and they include the following: peculiarities of the judge’s psychological traits; the judge’s perception of the public danger that the committed crime may have; obstructions from potential stakeholders’; the investigator S tactical errors that were made at the pre-trial investigation stage. The article suggests two classifications of judicial errors. It also describes the notion of the judge’s «inner conviction» and determines its role in the emergence of the transformation of errors. The article specifies that the formation of inner convictions is influenced by subjective and objective factors. Subjective factors include: the subject’s mental state; character and temperament; aptitude of solving intellectual tasks; life and professional experience; conformity level; emotional state. Objective factors include: the influence of the environment; the severity and danger of the committed crime; the criminal’s identity. The article is the first to describe the notion of the judge’s «gender» and its influence on making court decisions.

COMPROMISES IN THE PRE-TRIAL INVESTIGATION INTO TAX, DUTY (MANDATORY FEES) EVASION WITH THE USE OF MONEY LAUNDERING CONVERSION CENTERS

The article deals with the problems of using compromises in the pre-trial investigation into tax, duty (mandatory fees) evasion with the use of money laundering conversion centers. Taking into account the existing public demand for reforms of bodies responsible for tax legislation implementation oversight and with regard to novelties in criminal procedure and tax legislation, the article suggests amending the system of compromises that can be achieved at the pre-trial investigation stage with a tax compromise for users of illegal services provided by conversion centers. The article concludes that a genuine human-oriented tactics of conducting specific investigation (search) actions must be based on the most inclusive use of tactical techniques in order to influence an individual. They include: 1) demonstration of potential outcome of the current situation; 2) explanation of the importance of honest testimony; 3) persuasion of the importance of providing assistance to investigation bodies. In order to implement these tactical techniques the article advises the investigator to provide the participants of the criminal proceedings with a timely and professional explanation of the provisions of the law in force in Ukraine regarding various types of compromises.

LEGAL REGULATION OF JUDICIAL CONTROL INSTITUTE: COMPARATIVE ASPECT

The legal institute of judicial control as an important guarantee of adversarial criminal proceedings and its participants legal rights ensurance as well as the historical development of the judicial control subject at the pre-trial investigation stage – an investigating judge, are regarded. The pertinent legal norms of the current Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine are analyzed; comparative analysis of the given legal institute regulation is provided.

Механізм оскарження повідомлення про підозру як засіб захисту прав підозрюваної особи

У науковій статті розглядається питання повідомлення особі про підозру, а саме: оскарження такого рішення підозрюваним, захисником чи його законним представником. Висвітлюються питання щодо підозрюваної особи, підстав повідомлення про підозру та інформації, яка має міститись у такому повідомленні. Окрема увага приділяється дослідженню процедурного механізму оскарження повідомлення про підозру: від подання скарги (її змісту та правових підстав), отримання ухвали про розгляд скарги та її виконання.
 У статті зазначаються можливі підстави для відмови у винесенні рішення у справі та етичні проблеми, які виникають в суді під час вирішення скарги на повідомлення про підозру. Доцільним є розгляд судової практики в розрізі оскарження повідомлення про підозру.