If a person has witnessed a committed or impending offense or, God forbid, suffered from a criminal himself, he will most likely not be inactive and go to the police. Having submitted the appropriate application to the competent authorities, he begins a chain of actions that provides for a procedural procedure initiation of criminal proceedings. Its result may be the search, capture of the offender and the disclosure of the crime. But sometimes a criminal case may not open at all. People need to know that it is at the stage of the beginning of the criminal process that it is important to draw up documents and file an application if a disaster suddenly occurs.
Importance of the stage of a criminal case
Everyone needs to remember well that the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Article No. 145) clearly prescribes which authorities have the right to decide on the initiation of criminal proceedings, and regulates their powers. It should be remembered that no individuals and legal entities, except the investigator or representatives of the bodies of inquiry, as well as the prosecutor's office, are entitled to this.
The captains of the courts, as well as the management of exploration organizations located far from bodies of inquiry. In addition, the heads of representative offices of diplomatic missions and consulates of the Russian Federation can also petition the criminal prosecution authorities. So, if the above officials receive a statement that a crime has been committed or is being prepared to be committed, then it is they who decide what to do next.
The procedural procedure for initiating a criminal case is absolutely strictly regulated by the legislation of our country and is the most important stage in the whole process, since it is at this stage that the decision is made whether the case will be given or not, that is, it is concluded that there are sufficient grounds to start the process of case.
Decision Dates
It seems possible to decide the fate of a report of a crime or its preparation by the investigation and the prosecutor's office within three days, exceptionally ten, but no more. For these three days, it is necessary to achieve unanimity in whether the documents go further - to the consideration of the criminal case. It is sometimes difficult for officials to come to a consensus. The fact is that there is an official order of the Prosecutor General on prosecutorial supervision of the activities of bodies carrying out preliminary investigation.
This order clearly indicates powers of the prosecutor whose actions are required to ensure the legality and validity of decisions made at the pre-trial stage. For example, if an investigator decides to refuse to open a criminal trial, the prosecutor has the right to challenge this decision, finding the basis for further investigation. In other words, if a positive decision is made by the prosecutor's office, the initiation of a criminal case will receive a further move. It should be noted that important fact is that without a prosecutor’s resume, the investigator’s decision is invalid.
As for the participants in the trial themselves, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation allows them to appeal the resume of the investigator, inquiry bodies or the prosecutor at the pre-trial stage, that is, to defend their case for initiating a criminal case if the case has not been given further progress.
The key task at the preliminary stage is to find out how legitimate and reasonable the criminal investigation is by the investigator. The authorized bodies are looking for weighty evidence in criminal cases, and if they are sufficiently substantiated, the case may be opened. And the adoption of the final relevant decision actually lies with the prosecutor's office.
Reasons and grounds for starting a criminal trial
The preliminary stage is a strictly regulated process. The bodies that receive reports of a crime or its preparation are legally obliged to accept it, verify and make an informed decision, and immediately notify the applicant about it.
Article No. 140 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation indicates the sources of information about the preparation or commission of a crime. Not every filed application or petition may entail the process of initiating criminal proceedings by the investigator, who submits the materials to the prosecutor. That is, in order for the application to be accepted and receive a further move, it is necessary to properly execute it. The submission form may be either written or oral.
According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, only the following actions or documents can serve as the basis for starting a criminal process.
Statement of crime
Reporting a crime is the most common way to report a disaster that is happening or is about to happen. It may be presented in writing and orally. The written request is certified by the applicant’s signature, and the oral one is recorded by the inquiry bodies or the investigator. In this case, the applicant is warned of criminal liability for the provision of false information, and a note about this is recorded in the protocol for the adoption of the application.
With such a statement, any person can come, that is, not only the victim. Moreover, anonymous allegations of a crime are not a valid argument for opening a criminal case. And if an anonymous phone call arrives, the criminal case (Code of Criminal Procedure, Art.
Convict Turnout
This is a procedure in which a person voluntarily comes and reports on the commission of a crime, and the message can be transmitted in writing or orally. Taking control of a criminal case from the filing of the offender himself is possible subject to two conditions: the person must indicate his own actions and consider these actions criminal. At the same time, voluntary service may be a mitigating circumstance in the criminal process that has already begun.
Reporting or reporting a crime obtained from third-party sources
The basis may be a message about a forthcoming or committed crime from individuals, organizations or persons in execution. They are submitted in writing: this may be a letter of service, a report or a telephone message, documents may be attached to them proving the actual commission of the crime. The dissemination of information in the media also belongs to this category, and these messages are not addressed to the person authorized to initiate criminal proceedings and initiate proceedings. Rather, the goal is to attract general attention, including the attention of the authorities responsible for initiating criminal cases.
Prosecutor’s resolution, which governs the transfer of the case to the preliminary investigation body
The prosecutor's office monitors compliance with legal requirements by both legal and physical officials, and also monitors the activities of the preliminary investigation bodies themselves.
Also, applications from the tax authorities about criminal offenses in the field of legislation on taxes and fees are accepted.
Procedural procedure for initiating criminal proceedings on the criterion of “nature of the offense”
Criminal prosecution can be carried out both in the ordinary mode and in closed, depending on the nature of the offense. In legal language, there is a public order of investigation, and there are cases resolved in public-private and in private.
Private and public-private harassment
Criminal prosecution of criminals in public-private order is carried out in cases involving rape, unauthorized invasions of privacy, cases of non-observance of the secrets of correspondence. In the same way, cases related to refusals of employers to work, copyright infringements are investigated. A list of such cases can be found in more detail in the Code of Criminal Procedure. The private nature of the persecution also applies to cases involving bodily harm.
The procedural procedure for initiating criminal proceedings in these cases does not differ from cases of public prosecution of offenses.
Public prosecution
With the consent of the prosecutor, the investigating authorities or the inquirer shall issue a decision to initiate criminal prosecution (part 1 of article 146 of the CPC). Within the framework of his competence, the prosecutor makes progress in the disclosure of a criminal offense. Once again, it should be noted that only with the consent of the prosecutor can such a process be launched, the decision of one investigator or inquiry officer is not enough.
The resolution, which relates to the initiation of a case and is submitted by the investigator to the court of the prosecutor, must contain (under Article 146 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, part 2):
1. The date, time, place of fact of the adoption of this decision.
2. The rank, position of the person who issued the decision.
3. Evidence, the basis and reason for starting an investigation.
4. Violated article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the criminal process has begun.
According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, the prosecutor conducts an immediate audit of the validity of the initiation of proceedings. At the same time, both the investigator and the inquirer immediately transmit the materials to the prosecutor on the day the decision is made. They may contain evidence that is necessarily transmitted in its original form, without copies and can be used in the course of further investigation.
Not later than the current day, when the materials are received from the interrogating officer, the prosecutor makes a decision: return the materials for verification, refuse at all or let the criminal prosecution proceed. In the latter case, the date of commencement of the preliminary investigation shall be considered the date on which the decision was made by the investigator or interrogating officer.
On the day of obtaining the prosecutor’s consent for further actions, the inquiry officer or investigator shall notify all interested persons thereof and begin to take measures to suppress the offense. In this case, the countdown of the pre-trial check starts from the date when the investigator made his decision on this issue. If the prosecutor did not give consent, then the investigator’s decision does not receive legal force.
The prosecutor may return materials to the investigator or interrogator for additional verification of no more than 5 days. After it, updated materials with a new resolution of the investigator again fall on the prosecutor’s table. In this case, a preliminary investigation will begin from the day the interrogating officer or investigator signs a new document. All materials, including previously obtained, can be used during the investigation.
The decisions of the prosecutor may be appealed by the investigator to a higher prosecutor.
Remote Criminal Proceedings
Such processes are carried out by sea captains, heads of exploration, heads of diplomatic missions. If the crime is committed at a distance from the location of the investigating authorities, the prosecutor is immediately notified of the investigation. Thus, the prosecutor's office does not endorse criminal proceedings.But the prosecutor, having received at the first opportunity all the materials and not having considered the grounds for initiating the case to be sufficient, may terminate the proceedings.
