Public Prosecution Criminal Case: Proceedings and Form

The existence of a reason and reason for initiating a criminal offense case obliges certain officials to consider reporting a crime and decide to open a criminal case. The legislation establishes three types of criminal cases: public accusations, public-private and private charges.

The essence of public cases of criminal offenses

A feature of criminal cases of public prosecution is their increased public danger, in connection with which a criminal case can be brought even in the absence of a statement from the victim.

You can initiate a case on one of four grounds:

• statement of a crime;
• voluntary appearance of the offender and reporting of his act;
• reports of criminal offenses received from other sources (this may include information that was obtained during operational investigative measures);
• a prosecutor’s decree on the transfer of verification materials to the body conducting the preliminary investigation in order to resolve the issue of the appropriateness of instituting a criminal case.

Public Prosecutor

The criminal procedural law defines the circle of entities that have the right to initiate proceedings against the suspect.

These include:

1. Investigator.
2. Inquirer.
3. The head of the investigating authority.

Investigator Powers

The competence of investigators from the Russian Investigative Committee on Public Prosecution of Criminal Cases includes the power to examine cases in relation to the following categories of crimes:

• crimes specified in the articles of the Criminal Code: 105-110.2, parts four of article 111 (part four), 120, 126, 127 (parts two and three), 127.1 (parts two and three), 127.2 (parts two and three), 131 -149, 172.1, 128, 151.2, 170.1, 169, 171.2, 194 (parts three and four), 185-185.6, 199.4, 198, 200.4, 200.5, 205, 201.1, 201, 204.1, 204, 205-205.5, 215.1 , 215, 208-212.1, 216, 217.2, 235.1, 227, 237, 238.1, 238, 240.1, 239, 242.2, 242.1, 250, 246-249, 251 (parts two and three), 252 (parts two and three) , 254 (parts two and three), 255, 258.1 (parts two and three), 263.1, 263, 270, 269, 271.1, 271, 282-282.3, 279, 284.1, 292-293, 285-291.1, 294 (parts second and third), 296, 295, 298.1-305, 318, 317, 321, 328, 320, 330.1, 3 27.2, 332-354.1, 330.2, 356-361;
• crimes committed by persons in respect of whom a special process of production is conducted under article 447 of the procedural code, excluding the seventh part of this article, as well as crimes related to the professional duties of a citizen;
• crimes committed by persons holding positions in the Investigative Committee, bodies of the Federal Security Service, external intelligence service, Federal Security Service, internal affairs bodies, bodies and institutions of the penal system, customs authorities, military personnel, persons at military training camps, etc. P.;
• crimes of grave or especially grave degrees that were committed by minors or in relation to minors.

The investigator must notify the suspect and the applicant of the initiation of the case.

Investigator Powers

The competence of investigators to prosecute public prosecution cases includes the investigation of the following categories of cases:

1. Crimes in respect of which a preliminary investigation may not be carried out (including cases under the third part of Article 150 and the third part of Article 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
2. Crimes for which a preliminary investigation is necessary, but an inquiry can be carried out if necessary to carry out investigative urgent actions before being transferred to the investigation department.

The investigator is obliged to notify the suspect and the applicant about the initiation of the case.

The powers of the head of the investigating authority

The competence of the head of the investigating authority in the investigation of criminal cases of public prosecution includes the following categories of cases:

• crimes in the investigation of which the head of the investigating authority is the head of the investigation team;
• crimes specified in the fifth part of article 146 and the fifth part of article 447 of the CPC;
• crimes in the investigation of which the head of the investigating authority is an interrogator.

The head is obliged to notify the suspect and the applicant about the initiation of the case.

Elements of a decision to institute criminal proceedings

The procedure for instituting criminal proceedings against a public prosecution includes a ruling.

Its components are the following elements:

1. Place, time and date of the document.
2. Indication of the official who issued the decision.
3. Reasons as well as grounds for investigation.
4. Indication of an article with subparagraphs of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, on the basis of which the case was initiated.

Parts of the Regulation

The specifics of initiating criminal cases of public prosecution determine that the decision, which gives the right to investigate cases of criminal offenses, contains three mandatory parts: introductory, descriptive and motivational, resolutive.

The introductory part includes the place, time and date of the document; position, title, name, surname and patronymic of an official; data on the received report of the offense.

The descriptive and motivating part contains reasons as well as grounds for initiating a criminal case.

The resolutory (final) part includes the decision to initiate a case of an offense. With the known name of the offender, the decision is taken in relation to a specific person. In this case, the person is assigned the status (procedural) of the suspect under the first paragraph of the first part of Article 46 of the Code of Procedure. In this case, the inquiry may be conducted in an abbreviated form.

If the guilty person is unknown, the case shall be instituted on the basis of the fact of a criminal offense.

Notification by the prosecutor of the judgment

The prosecutor shall immediately, as soon as possible, receive notification of the investigation in the following cases:

• if a criminal case has been initiated by the captain of a ship (river or sea) in the long sea;
• if the case was initiated by the head of exploration wintering or parties that are removed from places with bodies of inquiry;
• if a criminal case has been instituted by the head of a diplomatic-type mission or consular type institution.

The prosecutor has the right to cancel the decision within 24 hours from the moment of its receipt, if it finds it unreasonable or illegal. In this case, he must make a reasoned response order and send a copy to the person who initiated the criminal case.

Persons to whom a special procedure for initiating proceedings is applicable

When committing crimes by persons determined by Article 447 of the Code, criminal cases of public prosecution have a special procedure for consideration. These include:

1. Members and deputies of the Federal Assembly (the Federal Council and the State Duma), deputies of the representative legislative state power body in the subject of the Russian Federation, members or deputies in elected bodies at the local government level, elected officials in the local government body.
2. Judges (in the Constitutional Court, federal general courts, federal arbitration courts, justices of the peace, judges of the courts of the subject, jurors or arbitrators of the type during the administration of justice by these persons).
3. Chairman in the Russian Accounts Chamber, his deputy or auditors in the Accounts Chamber.
4. Commissioner for Human Rights.
5. Retired President or candidate for the position.
6. The prosecutor.
7. Chairman of the Investigative Committee.
8. The head of the investigating authority.
9. Lawyer.
10. Investigator.
11. Members of election or reference commissions entitled to a casting vote.
12. Candidates for deputies to the State Duma (registered) or candidates (registered) to the state legislative body of the subject.

Procedure for initiating special criminal cases

Criminal cases of public prosecution in relation to special categories of criminals are considered by different officials in each case.

Crimes of members and deputies of the Federal Assembly (the Federal Council and the State Duma), deputies of a representative legislative state power body in a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, deputies or members of elected bodies at the local self-government level, elected officials in the local self-government body are considered by the Chairman in the Investigative Committee with the consent members of the relevant body on the proposal of the Attorney General.

Crimes committed by the Prosecutor General are considered by the Chairperson of the Investigative Committee if there is an opinion of a panel of three people from judges in the Supreme Court issued based on the President's submission on the presence of signs of an offense against the prosecutor.

Crimes committed by the Chairperson of the Investigative Committee are considered by his acting on the foregoing grounds. The President’s statement about the detection of signs of a crime committed by the relevant officials is considered at a closed session with the participation of suspects and their defenders, as well as in the presence of case materials.

Judicial offenses in the Constitutional Court are investigated by the President of the Investigative Committee with the consent of the Court. In the case of the Supreme Court, the subject of the investigation is the same person, but the consent of the qualification Higher College of Judges, etc. is required. The consent (or disagreement) of the Court must be submitted to the President of the Investigative Committee within ten days from the date of receipt of the document. In addition, consent must be reasoned.

The Chairperson also investigates the crimes of other executives, with the exception of criminal offenses committed by officials of bodies in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In this case, the case is investigated by the head of the investigating authority from the Investigative Committee at the subject level.

Features of criminal prosecution of public-private prosecution

The main feature of cases in this category is the reason for initiating proceedings. To establish a case, you must have a statement from the victim. This is enshrined in the third part of Article 20 and in Article 147 of the Code.

The consideration of criminal cases of public-private prosecution is entirely dependent on the will of the injured party, while in the field of public prosecution, an investigation is mandatory upon detection of signs of a crime.

In the event that there are all signs of a criminal offense, but the victim does not state this, the institution of the case is refused on the basis of the fifth paragraph of the first part of Article 24 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The head of the investigating authority, investigator or inquiry officer (with the sanction of the prosecutor) has the right to consider criminal cases of public-private prosecution (and private) if the victim is a person who is not able to protect his own rights and interests due to a helpless or dependent state.

Features of the investigation of private prosecution cases

Unlike criminal cases of public-private prosecution, the initiation of cases in private takes place at the request of not only the victim, but also his representative legally. You can also start by submitting an application from the victim or representative to the judge of the world section (according to the second part of Article 20 and the fourth paragraph of the fifth part of Article 318 of the Code).

The next peculiarity of considering such cases is the need for a specific suspect (for the first part and fourth paragraph of the fifth part of Article 318 of the Code).

If a criminal offense is committed against a person who is unable to protect his interests due to the lack of information about the offender, the case may be brought by the head of the investigating authority, investigator or inquiry officer (with the sanction of the prosecutor).

Criminal cases for public prosecution have a special procedure for consideration, slightly different from the consideration of other categories of cases.