Problem setting. This article examines the legal regulation of the institute of inquiry in Ukraine and abroad. It is concluded that the institution of inquiry in foreign countries is inherently different from the national form of pre-trial inquiry, but has some similarities. In particular, the differences are in the establishment of different terms of pre-trial investigation, the subjects of the criminal investigation procedure, the specifics of the use of additional evidence, the presence of a mandatory condition – a guilty plea to the suspect, the prosecutor’s participation in the proceedings. The author identifies common features and differences of the institute of inquiry in Ukraine and other countries, which in turn allows to identify ways to improve existing legislation.
The purpose of the article is to compare the legal regulation of the institution of inquiry in the current criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine and similar pre-trial investigation procedures in France, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic (here in after – the Czech Republic), the Republic of Poland (here in after – Poland), Great Britain, Belarus, Kazakhstan in order to identify positive features in order to improve it.
Analysis of recent researches and publications. The scientific works of Ukrainian scientists: N. I. Brovka, S. I. Simakov, O. V. Kerevych, K. B. Kalinovsky, etc. are devoted to the study of various aspects of inquiry in foreign countries. However, due to the lack of thorough research on the comparative analysis of the legal regulation of the institution of inquiry, as a simplified form of pre-trial investigation, with other countries, there is a need for such an analysis and highlight the positive aspects.
Articles main body. The institute of inquiry belongs to a simplified form of pre-trial investigation, which speeds up the trial in order to ensure greater efficiency of the criminal justice system and reduce costs. Thus, the investigated form of pre-trial investigation came into force on July 1, 2020 in criminal procedure legislation, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine to Simplify Pre-trial Investigation of Certain Categories of Criminal Offenses” № 2617-VIII of 22.11.2018.
The need for inquiry as a simplified form of criminal proceedings is due, in particular, to the heavy workload of investigators (for example, the National Police) in cases of minor crimes, which are now called criminal offenses. Inquiry is conducted during the investigation of criminal offenses, special subject – the connoisseu of the subdivisions of the inquiry or the authorized persons of other subdivisions; inquiry is carried out in a short time – 72 hours in case of notification to the person on suspicion of commission of a criminal offense. Additional sources of evidence in criminal proceedings on criminal offenses, in addition to general sources of evidence, are also explanations of persons, results of medical examination, expert opinion, testimony of technical devices and technical means that have the functions of photography and filming, video or photo and filming, video recording.
The procedure of simplified investigation of minor criminal offenses operates successfully in many foreign countries, in particular in the French Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, Kazakhstan, Germany, Austria, the Republic of Belarus, the Czech Republic, Poland. The simplified procedure in Poland does not apply to: – accused persons deprived of liberty, except in cases of prior arrest to the perpetrator of certain types of crimes; – minors; deaf, dumb or blind; – in the presence of reasonable doubts about the sanity of the suspect; – if the person does not speak Polish. The bodies investigating cases under the simplified procedure are the police, as well as other bodies authorized to conduct investigations (Article 471). The total term of the simplified investigation is 1 month.
Regarding the legal regulation of the institute of inquiry in Austria, it should be noted that the preliminary investigation is carried out only in the form of inquiry. Immediate investigative actions related to the identification of the perpetrator, as well as other circumstances, are conducted by the police before the initiation of a criminal case and end with the transfer of all materials to the prosecutor. At the same time, the body of inquiry is authorized to carry out any investigative and operative-search actions (which is unique in comparison with Ukraine).
It should be noted that a comparative analysis of the criminal procedure legislation of foreign countries allows to state the existence of a tendency to improve the pre-trial investigation towards its simplification. In international activities in the field of simplification of criminal procedure, there is a direction to adhere to such forms of justice that would optimally take into account the gravity of the crime, the consequences that may occur as a result. It is as a result of such simplification of criminal proceedings that it is possible to ensure procedural savings of forces, time and resources of participants in criminal proceedings.
Conclusions and prospects for further research. As for the overall impact of criminal offenses on the criminal justice system, it should be agreed that it is mostly positive. The system itself has become more humane as the number of detentions has decreased and the number of precautionary measures applied during the investigation has been minimal. This is one of Ukraine’s important commitments to the Council of Europe. The average length of a pre-trial investigation has accelerated by about half. This article will be useful for scholars studying the features of forms of pre-trial investigation, as it contains a comparative study of the institute of foreign inquiry and national criminal procedure law. Attention is also focused on some problematic issues related to the simplified form of pre-trial investigation. It can serve as a springboard for scientists to further research the institute of inquiry.
Legal regulation of initiation stage of criminal proceedings: foreign experience