Problematic issues of compliance with deadlines during the pre-trial investigation of criminal misdemeanors

Abstract

The use of new simplified forms of criminal proceedings is one of the conceptual issues of legal reform in Ukraine. The legal regulation of the most effective forms of administration of justice remains relevant in the light of the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Simplification of Pre-trial Investigation of Certain Categories of Criminal Offenses”, which entered into force in July.

The purpose of writing this scientific article is to study the problematic issues that appear during the practical application of the criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine in terms of criminal offenses, since the imperfection of the procedural legislation leads to the emergence of a legal vacuum in terms of regulating the lines of pre-trial investigation of criminal offenses until the moment of notification of suspicion and prolongation of deadlines after reporting a suspicion.

The inaccuracy of the presentation of the rules of law and the presence of competition of the rules of law in these matters have a significant impact on the violation of human rights and freedoms during the pre-trial investigation, and also form an unreasonable discretion of the pre-trial investigation authorities in terms of extending the investigation time limits within the maximum accessible lines.

In this study, we will point out the need for legislative settlement of legal gaps in this area, as well as suggest ways out of this situation.

There is only one thing that is clear, that the more time the specified problems remain without due attention, the more violations of the rights and freedoms of citizens committed through the fault of the state of Ukraine may be found in the future by the European Court of Human Rights, since the criterion for the operation of any state institution is the principles of legality and legal certainty, which cannot be said about the issue of time limits in the investigation of criminal offenses.

Since this issue is not properly regulated and early studies concern only a small part of it, as methods for improving the legal procedure for regulating lines in criminal offenses, comparative and scientific-legal methods are proposed that allow the application of general rules of procedural law for application in situations of unsettled or legal situations collision. An analysis of the decisions of the highest judicial bodies of the European Union and national courts was also carried out in order to establish the law enforcement features of this issue, since, according to the general rules of procedural law, the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court of Ukraine are, in essence, judicial precedents binding in law enforcement activities.