The Model of the Prosecutor’s Activity in Criminal Proceedings as a Determinant of Legal Nihilism

Abstract

The work is aimed at identifying the prerequisites for the formation of legal nihilism among prosecutors. The correlation of legal and actual models of the prosecutor's activity in criminal proceedings from the position of influence on legal consciousness of prosecutors was carried out. To achieve the purpose of the research the authors conducted an analysis of the current legislation, law enforcement practice, information posted on the official websites of the investigation and prosecution bodies, as well as a cross-sectional survey by questioning participants in criminal proceedings. The results allow us to speak about the presence of legal nihilism of prosecutors in the conditions of inability to fully perform their functions, based on the current legislation. In modern conditions, prosecutors are forced to violate the law or distort the practice of its application in order to solve the tasks assigned to them by the same law, which indicates not the professional unsuitability of prosecutors, but the inconsistency and illogic of the current legislation, the shortcomings of which prosecutors are forced to compensate with the manifestations of legal nihilism.