Art. 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is often used by people who are, to one degree or another, affected by the criminal process. It is not necessary to be a defendant in the case in order to have this right. The law does not limit anyone in it. There is a procedure for taking action on complaints.
Who is entitled to what?
Complaints are an effective tool for upholding the rights of participants in the process and other citizens or organizations whose interests are affected by the actions of the investigator or interrogator.
Norm Art. 124 of the CPC is formulated in the broadest possible way. Anyone is allowed to complain; status in the case does not matter. Everyone who does not have the status of a participant in the case is obliged to justify exactly how the decision or lack of action caused them harm.
The complaint should state facts, references to the law, and violations must have a causal connection with the criminal case. If there is no such connection, they will take a negative decision even on a well-grounded complaint. Art. 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure acts exclusively within the framework of criminal proceedings.
In this regard, it is most convenient to complain to the prosecutor's office, identifying violations, its employees are required to respond. Materials from the department responsible for monitoring the investigation and operational units are transferred to the general supervision department. Some employees prefer to immediately give a negative answer. Unlike the police and the UK or the FSB, their competence goes beyond the criminal process.
Who are they complaining about
The law establishes the following system of preliminary investigation bodies:
- police investigators and interrogators;
- FSSP investigators;
- FSB investigators;
- investigators SK.
First of all, the supervision of their activities is carried out by the head of the investigation or inquiry body. Often, the consent of the chief is necessary for conducting investigative actions, as well as opening a criminal case or closing it. Then it is sent to the prosecutor for approval.
The prosecutor's office also accepts complaints about actions bodies of inquiry and consequences.
In 2014, the prosecutor's office was returned supervision of the Investigative Committee, in addition, the control department operates in the service itself. Now Art. 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation fully applies to the UK. Previously, due to the lack of control by prosecutors, excessive independence was noted. Internal departmental control is not considered a sufficient measure to protect against abuse. It is worth contacting the prosecutors. In some cases, it is worth going directly to them, the heads of investigators and interrogators are inclined to show interest.
How to submit a statement
The papers are handed over to the investigator or interrogator, he is obliged to hand them over to the addressee, however, it must be ensured that the document is recorded in the correspondence books, otherwise he will not get anywhere beyond the office. On the copy of the submitter put the incoming number.
Art. 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation does not regulate the process of fixation, it is based on regulatory documents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the prosecutor's office, the Investigative Committee, the FSB.
It’s best to forward the complaint directly to the prosecutor or the department head. On the first copy, the official signs, date of adoption. Papers are accepted in the office of the authorities, there are also copies of the acceptance notes and the employee’s signature.
Features of the prosecutor's office
The prosecutor’s office has the same procedure. Along with this there are boxes in which people have the right to leave their appeals. They are subsequently registered and signed to the addressees.
Often a complaint is found in the institution of the prosecutor’s office that they complain about. This procedure is considered legal, becauseformally, the order is given to another employee or the decision was made by the deputy prosecutor, but now the prosecutor will decide everything. Despite complaints, such a system continues to exist.
Review process
Art. 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for a unified algorithm of actions for materials submitted for consideration, it does not matter who received them - a superior or a prosecutor.
3 days are given for decision making. This deadline is counted from the day when the appeal was received by the relevant employee on hand. He has the right to make a decision on the basis of materials provided by the applicant, as well as to request additional information. They are available upon request. In this case, the assistant investigator is responsible for the transfer of documents. A complaint is also sent to the prosecutor.
The investigator or inquiry officer most often attaches explanations of his actions to the application. So the full picture of what is happening is revealed.
Some cases are simple, and enough written in the statement, others require a detailed study. Requests, execution of instructions take a lot of time, employees are busy and do not have time to meet the allotted time.
Because of this, the prosecutor’s office uses the right to extend the time limits for prosecutor’s inspections, which is illegal in this case, but is practiced, for example, when checking the legality of a refusal to initiate proceedings. Instead of 10 days, it lasts for months.
In general, the procedure for considering a complaint is the same; it does not matter who is obliged to make a decision on it.
How to give an answer
The results of a complaint may be as follows:
- completely denied;
- partially denied;
- full consent is given.
Art. 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure with the comments of the Constitutional Court requires officials to evaluate the arguments in their responses and to justify their agreement or disagreement with them. Specification of the arguments is mandatory, in fact it is forbidden to give formal, template answers.
In agreement with the complaint, the inspector indicates: which particular actions are deemed illegal and what specific measures should be taken by the investigator in the future.
The person conducting the investigation may order an examination, interrogation, and confrontation.
The complaint may relate to the challenge, and then the materials are transferred to another official.
In practice, a partial recognition of actions is made. For example, one or another action is recognized illegal, but it does not bear any consequences for the guilty official.
The answer is sent by mail in paper form.
If you can’t achieve the result
The first in the chain of officials is the head of the department, then the district prosecutor, unless a higher-level investigation department is involved.
A complaint is filed with the higher prosecutor, then the next, until the papers are in the General Prosecutor’s Office. Sometimes you get the result there.
Complaint 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation is not limited. Litigation begins with the district courts, where it is possible to express all their arguments, so the material goes through a new step from the bottom to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Persistence allows citizens to achieve results, not always and not immediately, but nevertheless, the opportunity exists.
The problem, unfortunately, is in the system for responding to complaints. This is the attitude of officials and people themselves, their unwillingness to seek help from specialists or to study the law themselves, the practice of its application. After all, even a venerable expert on the law, with experience, never gives a full guarantee.