Наукові записки НаУКМА: Юридичні науки (Feb 2020)
Are Judgments of Investigating Judges on Setting Deadlines for Pre-trial Investigations Subject to Appeals: Theory and Practice
Abstract
Currently, there are varying legal and academic positions regarding application of the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine that address appeals on investigating judges’ judgments not included in the list in parts 1 and 2, Article 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine. Ostensibly, part 3 of this article of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine sheds light on this situation, as it actually stipulates that the mentioned list is exhaustive, and no other judgments of an investigating judge, other than listed in parts 1 and 2 of Article 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, may be appealed against during a pre-trial investigation, and, correspondingly, objections against other judgments of an investigating judge can be filed during the preliminary procedure in the court. In practice, the situation is somewhat more complicated. The court practice justifiably differentiates between: 1) possibility and legality of lodging in the pre-trial investigation an appeal against investigating judges’ judgments that are listed in the exhaustive list in parts 1 and 2 of Article 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine; 2) impossibility and illegality of lodging in the pre-trial investigation an appeal against investigating judges’ judgments that are stipulated in the criminal procedural norms and are not included by the legislator to the exhaustive list in parts 1 and 2 of Article 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine (Ruling of the Second Court Chamber of the Cassation Criminal Court of the Supreme Court No. 757/37346/18-к as of October 18, 2019); 3) possibility and legality of lodging in the pre-trial investigation an appeal against investigating judges’ judgments that are not stipulated in the criminal procedural norms and, justifiably, not included by the legislator into the exhaustive list in parts 1 and 2 of Article 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine (Ruling of the Court Chamber for criminal cases of the Supreme Court of Ukraine as of October 12, 2017, No. 5-142кс(15)17). Based on the overview of the issues described above, justified responses are required to clarify the power of an investigating judge to set the deadline for the prosecutor to complete a pre-trial investigation, considering the provisions of clause 18, part 1, Article 3, part 3 of Article 26, parts 2 and 6 of Article 28, parts 1 and 2 of Article 114, and Articles 303, 308 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, and whether such resolution of the investigating judge can be appealed against, under what conditions, and on what legal ground? In the process of the research, the author’s opinion was expressed on the discussion in question, in particular, it was proven that the investigating judge, considering provisions of clauses 18 and 19, part 1, Article 3, part 3 of Article 26, parts 1, 2, 6 of Article 28, part 2 of Article 36, parts 1, 2 of Article 114 of the Criminal Code of practice of Ukraine, has powers, based on the results of the consideration of a solicitation of the suspect, complainant, other people whose rights or interests are being limited during the pre-trial investigation, filed under the procedure described in part 6 of Article 28, part 1 of Article 114 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine to set the deadline, before which the investigator, the prosecutor, must finish their pre-trial investigation. It is stated that when the investigating judge uses his/her function of setting procedural deadlines (in our case, when the suspect, the complainant, or other people, whose rights or interests are being limited during the pre-trial investigation, file a solicitation as described in part 6 of Article 28, part 1 of Article 114 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, and when the investigating judge considers this solicitation) his/her judgment that sets the deadline binding for investigator, prosecutor, for finishing the pre-trial investigation, may not legally be complained against on appeal.
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