A preliminary investigation is the stage of a criminal process following the stage of initiating a criminal case . [1] The bodies of the preliminary investigation are required to ascertain the circumstances of the crime : the identity of the accused ; degree of his guilt ; motive of crime; amount of damage caused ; the reasons and conditions conducive to the commission of a crime, etc. The establishment of these circumstances and their assessment are preliminary, since a person in accordance with Article 49 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation can be found guilty only by a court verdict that has entered into legal force. [2]
Content
Preliminary Investigation Forms
Part 1 of Art. 150 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation determines that a preliminary investigation is carried out in one of two forms - preliminary investigation , inquiry . [3]
The inquiry has a simplified procedure compared with the preliminary investigation and is used for less serious crimes. The same 150th article of the CPC establishes the rules by which one of these forms is selected. In particular, the third part of this article sets out a list of crimes (by listing the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ), the investigation of which, as a rule, is carried out in the form of an inquiry.
Preliminary Investigation Tasks
- quick and complete disclosure of a crime
- exposing the perpetrators by collecting enough evidence
- identification of the causes and conditions that contributed to the commission of the crime
- taking measures to ensure compensation for pecuniary damage (search and seizure of stolen goods, etc.)
Preliminary investigation bodies
The Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation refers to the preliminary investigation bodies of investigators of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation , internal affairs bodies and bodies of the Federal Security Service. [1] . According to the latest amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (07.16.08 and earlier), the following were removed from the competence of the prosecutor:
- detention of a suspect as a measure of procedural coercion,
- election of a preventive measure,
- criminal prosecution (Article 21 of the Code of Criminal Procedure),
- termination of a criminal case in connection with reconciliation (Article 25 of the CPC),
- termination of the criminal case in connection with active repentance (Article 28);
in addition, carefully read chap. 6 Code of Criminal Procedure. [four]
Thus, the prosecutor , as a result of the 2007 reform, ceased to be the subject of the preliminary investigation. However, in several countries of continental Europe, the prosecutor still retains this function. So, in Germany, the prosecutor's office is investigating a variety of criminal cases. Basically, these are cases of economic crimes, of the most serious crimes and caused public resonance of the case. In addition, the German prosecutor may use some kind of “tool” (“Verlängerter Arm der Staatsanwaltschaft”) - “a person who is involved in the investigation by the prosecutor’s office” to assist in the investigation.
The general conditions of the preliminary investigation include: “forms of preliminary investigation; jurisdiction; place of preliminary investigation; connection of criminal cases; separation of a criminal case; separation of the criminal case materials into a separate proceeding; start of a preliminary investigation; urgent investigative actions; end of preliminary investigation; mandatory review of the application; measures of custody of children, dependents of the suspect or accused and measures to ensure the safety of his property; inadmissibility of disclosure of data from a preliminary investigation ” (Chapter 21 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). [2]
The general characteristics of cases under investigation by investigators of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation include: murders; rape; kidnapping; smuggling; encroachment on the life of a law enforcement officer and other crimes.
Investigators of internal affairs bodies investigate cases of causing various degrees of severity of harm to health; property crimes; about drug trafficking and other crimes. [one]
Investigators of the Federal Security Service investigate high treason; espionage; terrorism; hostage taking and other crimes. [one]
Place of Preliminary Investigation
A general condition for a preliminary investigation is the place of the preliminary investigation. In accordance with Art. 152 part 1 of the CPC, a preliminary investigation is carried out at the place of commission of the act containing signs of a crime. It can be a scene - a house, an apartment, a street, a road, a locality, etc., a settlement, district, region, on the territory of which the crime event occurred. [five]
A preliminary investigation may be conducted at the place where the crime ended (part 2 of article 152 of the CPC), the place where most of the crimes were committed or the most serious of them (part 3 of article 152), the location of the accused or the majority of witnesses (part 4 of article 152). [five]
The place where the preliminary investigation is carried out is also considered to be the institution in which the investigator or interrogator works, their workplace.
See also
- Investigation of crimes
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 S.P. Efimichev, P.S.Efimichev "Tasks of the preliminary investigation" // "Journal of Russian Law", 2006, N 9
- ↑ 1 2 Constitution of the Russian Federation (from 12.12.1993)
- ↑ An investigation of new circumstances of the case (provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 415 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation as part of the procedure for resuming criminal proceedings in the light of new circumstances) should not be attributed to the preliminary investigation stage, although it has common features with it (it is carried out by the investigating authorities, it may include investigative actions). It is customary to attribute it to a separate exceptional stage of criminal proceedings. (See Stages of criminal proceedings in the Russian Federation )
- ↑ Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation at Wikisource
- ↑ 1 2 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation (dated December 18, 2001 No. 174-ФЗ, adopted by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on November 22, 2001 :)
Links
- Timofeev A.G. Corollary // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.