Reasoning About the Stages and Time Frames of the Preliminary Investigation Stage
The framework of the second stage of criminal proceedings is fixed in the form of determining the term of the preliminary investigation and inquiry. The initial moment of the stage of questions in theory and law enforcement practice does not cause, unlike the moment of the end. The interpretation of the legislator "until the day of sending the criminal case to the prosecutor ..." generates the following discussions: 1. Is the prosecutor's activity on checking the received materials of the criminal case included in the stage of the preliminary investigation? The amendments made on December 28, 2010 to Article 221 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, allowing in certain cases to extend the decision-making period by the prosecutor up to 30 days, renewed in the theory of criminal procedure the ideas of dividing the preliminary investigation into stages or allocating a new stage of the criminal process. 2. Do the indictment and the indictment resolution drawn up have legal force if they are not approved by the prosecutor? If not, what about the procedural status of the accused in this case? The purpose of the work is to analyze the existing theoretical discussions and law enforcement problems in determining the timing of the end of the preliminary investigation. The possibility and expediency of singling out three stages of the second stage of the criminal process, which have their own independent terms, is expressed: preliminary investigation, verification by the prosecutor of the received materials of the criminal case and additional investigation. Such an allocation will ensure that all participants in criminal proceedings properly perform their procedural functions and will differentiate the activities of criminal prosecution bodies according to the tasks achieved, including in terms of guarantees of compliance with the terms of the chosen preventive measures.