Prosecution Authorities Research Articles

Prosecutors Prevention of Violations of Legislation Regulating Artificial Intelligence: Problem Statement

Prevention of law violations is one of the key directions of crime counteraction. Non-criminal offences often create conditions for publicly dangerous actions, so it is necessary to pay special attention to their prevention within the framework of early prevention of crime. Procuratorial bodies of the Russian Federation are one of the key subjects involved in crime prevention, and procuratorial supervision over the observance of laws plays a leading role in this work. The author attempts to outline the problem of the early prevention of legal offences connected with the use of artificial intelligence in the Russian Federation. At present, the bodies specifically authorized to exercise control and supervision in this sphere have yet not been determined. Due to this, preventive work cannot be carried out by the prosecution authorities, whose main task is to supervise the observance of laws by other bodies, timely detect violations in their work and undertake measures to eliminate such violations, as well as the causes and conditions leading to them, neutralizing the accompanying criminogenic factors. Another problem, according to the author, is the absence of legal regulations of the use of artificial intelligence at the federal level, which, in its turn, makes it impossible both for the prosecutors office to exercise oversight, or for any other bodies to carry out preventive measures in this sphere. Due to this, and taking into account the significance of information technologies in the life of society and the state today, it is necessary to eliminate the outlined obstacles to preventive work in the sphere of artificial intelligences functioning.

Возвращаясь к вопросу о целесообразности следственных судей в процессе доказывания по уголовному делу

In criminal proceedings, starting from the judicial reform of 1864, the idea of creation a principle of adversity was fundamental. Due to political and ideological prerequisites, it is impossible to draw an unambiguous conclusion about the existence of an adversarial criminal process in Russia. At various stages of its formation, the procedural form was predominantly investigative or mixed, which means that at the pre-trial stages the role of the criminal prosecution prevailed due to the assigned burden of proof. But adversarial principles are still present in court.
 Undoubtedly, the 1991 reform concept set the task of creating an absolutely competitive judicial process. However, the adversarial form of criminal proceeding is still not always feasible, since there is no balance between the defense and the prosecution in the procuring of evidence. As a rule, at the pre-trial stages, the case lies in the hands of the criminal prosecution authorities, the defender is actually constrained in obtaining proof, dependent on the manifestation of procedural goodwill in the course of the preliminary investigation.
 In this regard, the goal of the research is to consider the role of such a procedural participant in the criminal process in the certain foreign states as an investigating judge, and the positive and negative aspects of their role.
 On the one hand, the experience of Ukraine shows that the investigating judge is a completely reasonable participant in the criminal process in terms of the implementation of judicial control and in ensuring the balance of interests of the defense and the prosecution in the implementation of objective competitiveness. On the other hand, Kazakh lawyers demonstrate the problems and workload of the investigating judge, whose procedural role is anything but simple.
 In order to research the issue of the expediency of the investigating judges in Russia, the following methods were used in this study: conversations, axiomatic method, analysis and synthesis.
 The article explores the perspectives of modern Russian and foreign scientists on the relevance or the futility of implementation the role of an investigating judge in Russian criminal procedure. That discussion ultimately comes down to the mentality of the domestic criminal process, that still remains predominantly accusatory at the pre-trial stages.

The Specificity of Introducing Information Technologies into the Activities of the Bodies of the Prosecution of the Russian Federation for Working with Appeals of Citizens

Consideration of appeals is a very important and priority activity of any body. The primary task is to respect the right of a citizen to consider the appeal in a timely manner and receive a reasoned response. The rapid development of information systems in recent years has significantly changed the way citizens submit applications. Citizens began to use the Internet reception of the prosecutor’s office, e-mail, and a single portal of public services more actively. The article analyzes the issues of introducing information technologies into the activities of the prosecutor’s office of the Russian Federation in dealing with citizens’ appeals; highlights the specifics of the implementation of digitalization measures in the activities of the prosecution authorities, updating the system for the provision of public services provided using various digital platforms that allow transferring dialogue with citizens to virtual information platforms using modern communication channels; the problems of introducing digital technologies in the prosecutor’s office are raised. The shortcomings of the legislative regulation of the issues of citizens’ appeals are also noted and ways to solve them are proposed.

Activities of the Procuratorial Bodies of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China to Ensure Legality in the Environmental Sphere

The article is devoted to topical issues of the activities of the prosecution authorities of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China to ensure the rule of law in the environmental sphere. At the same time, the approaches of the two states to ensure legality in the environmental sphere at the constitutional level, which are regulated by the Constitutions of the Russian Federation and the PRC, were studied. The achievements of the prosecutor’s office for the protection of human and civil rights in the Russian Federation for a favorable natural environment, for improving the ecological environment for people and the general ecological situation were consecrated; prevention of pollution and other dangerous phenomena for society; protection of water bodies and forests. The author analyzes the environmental legislation of China, the main laws regulating the issues of environmental protection both in the Russian Federation and in the People’s Republic of China. The existing successes in this matter are canceled and the factors that reduce the effectiveness of environmental protection activities of both the authorities of these states and the regulatory and supervisory authorities in them are indicated.

CJEU: Germany’s Public Prosecution Authorities Cannot be Regarded as a “Judicial Authority” with Regard to EAWs—The Truth or a Misconstrual of the Legal Reality?

AbstractThe judgment rendered by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on May 27, 2019, deemed Germany’s prosecution service (Staatsanwaltschaft) legally incompetent for the purpose of issuing European arrest warrants (EAW) due to its lack of institutional independence. As a consequence, the question of how the German criminal prosecution system differs from the approaches taken by other European countries issuing European arrest warrants arises and raises the question of whether the German prosecution service truly is insufficiently independent in this respect. Debates amongst legal scholars have ensued in the wake of the CJEU’s judgment—the Court not yet having proffered any solutions regarding the re-establishment of the institutional independence—and this article shall discuss the lack of independence and acquaint the reader with possible solutions.

On the Need to Improve the Subject of Prosecutorial Supervision Ensured Compliance with Laws

The article is devoted to the consideration of the main views of Soviet and Russian scientists on the content of one of the main categories in the theory of prosecutorial activity – the subject of prosecutorial supervision over the implementation of laws. During the period of existence of prosecutorial supervision, views on the content of this concept have repeatedly changed. Consideration of various approaches to the subject of prosecutorial supervision has acquired particular relevance in the modern period of development of the prosecutor's office, which is largely due to dynamically changing legislation. At the same time, the allocation of supervision over the observance of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the implementation of laws in force on its territory by bodies, organizations and their officials supervised by the prosecutor, as well as the compliance with the laws of legal acts issued by them, remains unchanged. After analyzing the available scientific approaches, law enforcement practice and legal regulation of the activities of the prosecution authorities of Russia, the author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to further transform the content of the concept under consideration in connection with the active introduction of information technologies into the life of society and the state, as well as a number of financial instruments that involve constant monitoring of their use, which seems diffi cult given the existing both legislative and scientific approaches to the regulation of the supervisory activities of the prosecutor. This article proposes one of the possible models of the subject of supervision over the implementation of laws, which includes, in addition to the traditional ones, such elements as supervisory support for the implementation of certain laws, as well as supervisory support for the legality of regulatory legal acts. The proposed model of the subject of prosecutorial supervision over the implementation of laws will eliminate a number of law enforcement problems and increase the efficiency of the prosecutor in this area.

Conceptual Approaches to the Organization of Prosecutorial Activities in the Fight Against Global Corruption

On the basis of analysis of international acts, national legislation, and law enforcement practice, the article shows the conceptual approaches in the organization and activities of prosecutorial authorities in the fight against corruption. This article aims to determine optimal ways to improve the legal status of the prosecutors office to improve its effectiveness against corruption.
 The objectives of the study are to identify international principles in the organization of international anti-corruption bodies; to identify the problems of organization in the activities of specialized anti-corruption prosecution services; to determine the main directions of prosecutorial activities in the fight against corruption; to identify the role of international cooperation of prosecutors in the fight against corruption.
 The object of the study were public relations formed in the process of the prosecutors office in the fight against corruption, and the subject the rules of law governing the activities of prosecutorial authorities and the practice of their application.
 The methodology of research is general scientific methods of knowledge (dialectical, analysis and synthesis, modeling, and so on).
 The article contains a comparative legal analysis of the legislation of foreign countries regulating the activities of prosecutors in the fight against corruption. Particular attention is paid to the organization and activities of prosecutorial authorities of CIS countries. Proceeding from the specifics of organization and activity, prosecutorial authorities of foreign countries are endowed with different volumes of powers in combating corruption. The engagement of prosecution authorities worldwide in combating corruption has led to the creation of specialized units within their structure. In many countries, however, an inter-agency opposition exists between specialized anti-corruption bodies and prosecutors offices due to overlapping responsibilities.
 The prosecution authorities of Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and other countries have the greatest powers in the criminal and non-criminal spheres. Prosecutors offices in these countries are empowered to supervise the implementation of anti-corruption legislation and coordinate anti-corruption activities of the entire law enforcement system. A promising direction to improve the effectiveness of prosecution is the introduction of SWOT-analysis in its activities. Moreover, based on interstate training centers, a need for the advanced training of prosecutors persists. Considering the positive experience of creating the European Public Prosecutors Office, the expediency of granting the Coordinating Council of Prosecutors General of the CIS countries with additional powers to coordinate the activities of prosecution authorities in the fight against corruption was substantiated.

The staff of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Ukraine: in search of optimal ways of formation

It has been provided a comparative study of the national legal systems of some European Union member states with a high level of civil society confidence in the justice system, in terms of the formation of the prosecutor’s office as part of this system.
 It has been stated that in order to substantiate the timeliness and demand for measures of the current stage of reforming the prosecutor’s office in Ukraine, the criterion of the level of civil society trust in the prosecutor’s office is set, which fully meets the European standard of functioning of this institution in a democratic society.
 Taking into account the unsatisfactory state of functioning of the existing model of prosecution authorities in Ukraine, from the point of view of the level of support provided by society, there is a need to study the formation of prosecutors in foreign countries in order to gain successful experience in establishing this important institution in the state justice system.
 It has been highlighted the peculiarities of the legal policy on determining the qualification requirements for candidates for the position of prosecutor, selection procedures and professional training of prosecutors in the Member States of the European Union with a high level of civil society trust in institutions that provide due justice.
 It has been established that a high level of civil society trust to the justice system is, to a decisive extent, a projection of a certain legal policies of these states, aimed at methodological academic and special professional training of the judiciary staff, including prosecutors.
 It is concluded that simplification of the procedure for selection and training of prosecutors may not always indicate its improvement, as only a systematic change in the special training of candidates for the position of prosecutor and further training of incumbent prosecutors, taking into account best practices, can contribute to high level their professional competence as a prerequisite for increasing the level of trust of civil society in the prosecutor’s office as an institution as a whole.

A Comparative Analysis of Non-Fatal Strangulation Offences: Will the Proposed s. 75A Serious Crime Act 2015 Work for Victims of Domestic Violence and Abuse?

This article examines the new offence of Non-fatal Strangulation s. 75A Serious Crime Act 2015, inserted by s. 70 Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and concludes that further re-drafting should be considered. The creation of a specific crime of non-fatal strangulation is an issue previously considered and legislated for by a number of legal jurisdictions and their experiences are a source that England and Wales should have drawn upon to avoid further legislative reform in this area. This has not happened and s. 75A, prompted by the call to better protect victims of domestic violence and abuse, has been drafted in a manner that will limit its ability to achieve this aim. This is evident by the limited language to describe and define the prohibited conduct and the complexity arising from the inclusion of a defence of consent in some circumstances. Given the potential educative function this offence has, these aspects of the new offence are a significant blow to campaigners seeking improvements to the criminal justice response to domestic violence and abuse. This article outlines the relevance of non-fatal strangulation (NFS) to the social problem of domestic violence and abuse and makes the argument that a new specific offence is justified. It then explores from selected legal jurisdictions examples of non-fatal strangulation (NFS) offences to draw out elements that have either assisted or hindered the prosecution of these cases. This comparative approach provides the basis for analysis of the s. 75A offence to determine what challenges it will present to the prosecutorial authorities.

Remote Forms of Interaction between the Prosecutor’s Office and the Public: Problems of Application

The subject of the study is the legal norms governing the work of the prosecutor’s office with the public amid modern conditions. The object of the study is the totality of social relations that are developing in the field of interaction between the prosecutor’s office and the public in remote forms. The author scrutinizes the problems of coordinating the activities of the prosecutor’s office with the public using digital technologies. In particular, attention is given to such issues as consideration and resolution of electronic applications, complaints and other appeals of the public to the prosecution authorities, supervisory activities using prosecutorial response measures, as well as the problem of creating conditions for secure information interaction in the digital environment. The author concludes that it is necessary to constantly develop and improve the prosecutors’ skills, improve their literacy in the field of computer technology and information security. It is required to adopt a regulatory legal act that would regulate not only the procedure, but also the technical requirements for the software of the websites of the authorities in terms of receiving electronic applications, including in the bodies and organizations of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation.

Damage compensation mechanism in the criminal process

It discusses the problematic issues of consideration and resolution in a criminal case of a civil claim for compensation for property damage or compensation for moral damage caused by a criminal offense. The essence and content of the "civil claim in the criminal process" is determined, the advantages are noted, and the problems of a civil lawsuit in the criminal process of Ukraine are discussed. The authors propose to consider the filing of a civil claim as a right of the victim, corresponding to the obligation of the criminal prosecutor's office and the court to take measures for the timely reparation of damages. Some reasons are revealed that complicate the implementation of the principle of inevitability of civil liability for a crime committed simultaneously with the procedure for convicting the perpetrator. As a conclsuion se proposes to develop new approaches to the institution of a civil lawsuit in the criminal process of Ukraine, contributing to the improvement of the activities of the criminal prosecution authorities and the court to restore the violated civil rights of victims of crime.

Violence Domestique : prise en charge des violences entre (ex-) partenaires intimes par les autorités de poursuite pénale : l’expérience de Neuchâtel. L’autoperception de victimes de violence conjugale du risque de récidive : un test longitudinal et empirique de sa précision et ses implications pour la prévention du crime

In the practice of the vast majority of prosecution authorities, the place allowed to victims of domestic violence in the process of risk assessment and management is very limited. However, several research findings suggest that victims are able to assess their risk of future victimization in a relatively accurate manner. This study seeks to fill the gap in this specific kind of research in Switzerland. It is based on the use of a questionnaire administered to 75 victims during their interaction with police forces. The results, both qualitative and quantitative, point to different possibilities for improving the functioning of the criminal justice system through closer collaboration with victims.

Prosecutorial and Police Disclosure Ethics in Criminal Evidence Review in the UK and the US. A Comparative Account

This article offers a comparative analysis of the phenomenon of pre-trial non-disclosure of criminal evidence, as exhibited by police and prosecution authorities in the US and English legal systems. The majority of literature that focuses on the subject of disclosure and specifically non-disclosure when it comes to criminal evidence review, explores the challenges and experiences of the US and English disclosure systems in isolation. This article considers disclosure ethics in the context of systemic cultural patterns exhibited by prosecution and police authorities in both jurisdictions. Thus, by conducting a step-by-step appreciation of the culture and operative practices experienced in both common-law systems, the article aims to offer a better understanding of the causes that lie behind police and prosecutorial ethical violations of disclosure duties. Specifically, I conclude that both police officials and prosecutors in England and the US enjoy a significant number of incentives that encourage unethical behavior and set low standards for performing one’s ethical and legal duty to disclose. At the same time, both criminal justice systems do not appear to put enough measures in place in order to punish and deter such occurrences.

Prosecutor’s participation in civil and administrative proceedings in defense of public interests in the China

With the rapid development of the economy, violations of public interest, such as environmental pollution, and food and drug safety issues, are increasingly occurring, resulting in the violation of personal rights and enormous losses of property assets for a large number of people. At present, citizens or relevant public organizations are unable to take legal action affecting the public interest to resolve problems, so it is necessary to rely on the prosecution authorities to protect public order and the public interest through the exercise of their prosecutorial powers. The implementation of relevant legislation by prosecutors has achieved considerable results in favor of the protection of public interests, but problems have accordingly arisen in both civil and administrative proceedings for the protection of public interests brought by prosecution authorities. One set of problems is the limitation only to areas of cases specified in law, making the range of cases is narrow; the implementation of prosecutorial supervision leading to difficulties in proving damage to the public interest; and prosecutors’ lack of professional knowledge. The article presents and analyzes the legal framework for prosecutors’ involvement in public interest litigation in China and reveals the causes of the fundamental problems; and suggests ways to improve the current legislation and ways to solve the problems arising by using a modern intelligent judicial system and with the help of relevant administrative authorities in the field of environment and environmental protection, natural resources, food and medicine, consumer protection, and so on.

ГРОМАДСЬКИЙ КОНТРОЛЬ ЗА ДІЯЛЬНІСТЮ ОРГАНІВ ПРОКУРАТУРИ ЯК ГАРАНТІЯ ДОТРИМАННЯ ПРАВ ЛЮДИНИ В УКРАЇНІ

The article reveals the features of public control over the activities of the prosecutor's office as a guarantee of human rights observance in Ukraine. It has been established that the public control carried out over the activities of the prosecution authorities is defined as the activities established by law, which are carried out by members of the public. It has been determined that the key institutional elements of such control are the subject of control, the object of control, the subject of control, and the procedures for release from control. It is noted that there are such forms of public control over the activities of the prosecution authorities, such as: public participation in the processes of discussion and preparation of legal documents; appeal of citizens or civil society institutions in direct form, together with representatives of the media, to the prosecution authorities in order to obtain information from them about the features and results of their activities; participation of citizens and/or civil society institutions in the selection processes of candidates applying for positions in the prosecutor's office; conducting surveys of citizens in their opinion about the features and results of the activities of the prosecutor's office. It has been found that ensuring constant and thorough public information about the activities of the prosecution authorities on the observance of human and civil rights and freedoms will help to increase the level of confidence of citizens and society as a whole to the activities of the prosecutor's office and prosecutors in particular. It is noted that the prospects for further research in this direction is to study the features of judicial control as one of the key guarantees of the activities of the prosecutor's office for the observance of human and civil rights and freedoms in Ukraine.

Отдельные вопросы организации прокурорского надзора за законностью закупочной деятельности на примере практики прокуратуры Томской области

Organization of prosecutorial supervision over the legality of procurement involves: collecting, analysis and processing of information on the state of procurement activities in a particular region; developing goals and objectives of prosecutorial supervision in procurement activities; planning work on the direct supervision of the state of legality, including conducting prosecutorial checks (scheduled, unscheduled); implementation of materials and results of conducted inspections and supervision activities; adjustment of the existing prosecutorial. One important aspect of the organizational activities of the Prosecutor's Office in overseeing the legality of the implementation of state and municipal contracts is to ensure proper interaction with public authorities and local authorities exercising powers in this area. The main forms of interaction are: Exchange of relevant information by the agencies concerned. In turn, prosecutors inform public authorities about the state of lawfulness, fight against crime and offences in the field of protection of entrepreneurs' rights in the implementation of state and municipal contracts. Proactively informing the prosecutor's office on the facts of revealing corruptogenic provisions in the legal acts regulating relations in the contractual sphere. Joint participation in preparation of regulatory legal acts concerning observance of entrepreneurs' rights in implementation of state and municipal contracts at the level of regional and local representative bodies. Participation of prosecution authorities in meetings of public authorities, local authorities, committees, working groups, as well as coordination, inter-agency meetings of heads of law enforcement agencies and authorities. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

The Gendered Impact of COVID-19 Directives on Access to Criminal Justice in South Africa

Gender-based violence (GBV) knows no boundaries, and no region has been immune to this scourge. In the South African context, GBV had reached pandemic levels long before the COVID-19 virus. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown measures adopted in response to it, cases of GBV rose steeply. The pandemic also saw major criminal justice players in South Africa, including the South African Police Service, the National Prosecuting Authority, the judiciary, and Correctional Services, adopt directives to regulate criminal justice during the lockdown periods. The directives took the form of general directives, arguably having no implications for women’s right to access to criminal justice. In this article, I examine selected directives by criminal justice players with a focus on those issued by the judiciary. I assess whether these directives could have been gendered, thus negatively impacting women’s access to criminal justice during the COVID-19 pandemic. I conduct this analysis using the concept of intersectionality, which underscores that the social categorisation of an individual, such as gender, race, nationality, and class can sometimes overlap or compound, thus causing disadvantage or discrimination. Based on this analysis, I conclude that some of these directives were gendered and could have exacerbated the challenge of access to justice by survivors of GBV. This conclusion seeks to confirm the view that seemingly gender-neutral directives and regulations may in fact contain gendered elements.

Формы сотрудничества и взаимодействия органов прокуратуры Российской Федерации с прокуратурой Республики Таджикистан

The article analyzes the main theoretical concepts and legal provisions in the sphere of cooperation and interaction between the prosecution authorities of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan. The author pays attention to analyzing the legal regulation of international cooperation, as well as reviewing the fundamental principles through which the prosecutorial activity is carried out. The article examines the peculiarities of organizing the work of prosecution authorities of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan in the field of international legal cooperation. According to international obligations, the states provide mutual assistance in countering and overcoming criminal manifestations, bringing to justice the perpetrators of unlawful acts, as well as combating transnational manifestations of crime which entails inevitable criminal prosecution and punishment. An essential role in this direction is played by the institution of international cooperation. The obligations of the Prosecutor’s Offices of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan also have an impact on society, as their activities are aimed at guaranteeing the implementation of human rights and freedoms. Progress in this area can be achieved by intensifying the international cooperation of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan in terms of the international fight against crime.

Prokuratura w państwach Grupy Wyszehradzkiej – historia, uwagi prawnoporównawcze, współpraca

The public prosecutor’s office is one of the most important state organs responsible for upholding the rule of law and prosecuting crimes. The efficient functioning of the office is one of the guarantees of the implementation of a democratic state ruled by law. After 1989, in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, after independence from Soviet influence, the prosecution authorities began to reform, trying to adapt to the new conditions. The exchange of mutual experiences in this area has a special form in the case of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, i.e. the countries making up the so-called Visegrad Group, within which the prosecutors general meet each year to deepen cooperation. The purpose of this article is to present the principles of the functioning of the prosecutor’s office in the V4 countries and to compare them also from a historical perspective.

Обеспечение безопасности содействия расследованиюкак самостоятельноеусловие заключения досудебного соглашения о сотрудничестве с подозреваемым, обвиняемым

The stimulation of the criminal procedure conduct of persons against whom criminal prosecution is carried out has various forms. Assistance to the criminal prosecution authorities, especially in pre-trial proceedings, is essential for a high-quality, effective investigation of the circumstances of the criminal case. The conclusion of a pre-trial cooperation agreement (DSoS) between the prosecutor and the suspect or accused creates conditions as an increase in evidentiary activity, but also a threat to the person who concluded it. In this regard, it seems that an important circumstance of the content of the agreement is the condition for safe assistance to criminal justice. Safe and active assistance to the investigation creates threat to life, health, other legitimate interests of the suspect or accused. These threats can be of different nature (forms, types). It is assumed that the specified security provision should be a mandatory and necessary condition for the content of the agreement.