In any legal relationship there are subjects. Their interaction can be of a different nature. Depending on it, in turn, a specific circle of subjects of certain relations is determined.
Criminal proceedings
It represents the specific activities of authorized bodies. It is associated with the initiation of cases, investigation, consideration and resolution of them in court. This activity has a public law character. Its implementation is carried out strictly within the framework of the law.
Normative base
The CPC provides for the principles of criminal proceedings . On their basis, authorized bodies carry out their activities. They are conditionally divided into 2 categories. The first includes the principles of criminal proceedings defining the freedoms and rights of citizens. These include:
- The presumption of innocence.
- Providing suspects / accused with the right to defense.
- The inviolability of the individual, home, private life.
- Protection of dignity and honor.
In addition, the legislation contains principles that determine the procedure for legal proceedings. Among them:
- Legality in the conduct of business.
- Administration of justice exclusively by the court.
- Adversarial, equal rights of the subjects involved in the proceedings.
- The freedom to evaluate the evidence presented.
- The right to challenge the acts.
As you can see, most of the above provisions relate to participants in legal proceedings. The legislation defines a circle of entities that can be involved in business at various stages. Let's consider them in more detail.
The concept and classification of participants in criminal proceedings: general information
Issues relating to persons involved in cases have always been of great interest to lawyers. In article 5 of the CPC there is a general definition of them. According to the norm, participants in proceedings are entities who are involved in direct proceedings. Accordingly, their circle can be quite wide. The concept and classification of participants in criminal proceedings are categories of great practical importance. Persons involved in cases may include government agencies, individuals, officials, legal entities, foreigners, and stateless entities. Their unifying feature is the fact that they are all involved in business to one degree or another.
Tasks
The concept and classification of participants in criminal proceedings allow us to identify a number of functions that can be performed by entities involved in cases. In particular, persons may:
- Implement a specific procedural task.
- Exercise duties and rights in accordance with their status.
- To enter into legal relations with various government agencies and employees involved in the administration of justice.
General separation of subjects
Currently, the law clearly defines the concept and classification of participants in criminal proceedings . The latter is based on the adversarial proceedings. The legislative separation of the entities involved in the consideration is carried out into the following groups:
- Court. In criminal proceedings, this body is authorized to consider the case.
- The charge. The norms provide for the participation of the prosecutor in criminal proceedings , his deputy, the inquiry officer, investigator, and the victim. The same group includes the civil plaintiff, private prosecutor, their representatives, including legal representatives.
- Protection. This group, first of all, includes a lawyer. In criminal proceedings , representatives of the accused may also perform defense functions. In addition, this group includes directly the person held accountable, and the civil defendant.
- Auxiliary participants in criminal proceedings . These include the secretary, witnesses, experts, translators, specialists, and so on.
Alternative split
Differentiation of subjects can be carried out depending on the specificity of interests, their purpose and role. The following groups are distinguished by these signs:
- Government agencies and employees, whose work and decisions will determine the course and outcome of the case. The list of subjects included in this group is considered exhaustive. It includes: bodies of inquiry / investigation, their employees, including managers, prosecutors and deputies, judges.
- Subjects with personal material and procedural interests. This category includes the main participants in criminal proceedings . Among them: suspects / accused, victims, private prosecutor, civil defendant and plaintiff. These participants - parties to criminal proceedings - are involved in almost all stages of the process. The legislation provides them with ample opportunities in terms of protecting their freedoms and rights.
- Subjects not having a personal interest, but speaking on behalf of the parties to the proceedings. This group includes counsel, representatives of the victims, private prosecutor, suspect, civil plaintiffs and defendants, suspects, accused. The same category includes persons acting on behalf of minors, fully or partially incompetent participants in the process.
Representation
The protection of the freedoms and rights of various participants in criminal proceedings who have a personal interest in the process is ensured through the involvement of persons acting on their behalf. The representative office acts as a legal institution providing for special opportunities or duties of a certain category of entities. Some of these individuals specialize in providing qualified legal assistance. Other representatives are involved in the process on the basis of the provisions of the law.
Kinds
In criminal law theory, there are two types of representation: contractual and legal. In the first case, the subjects enter into an agreement. Legal representation involves participation in legal proceedings on the basis of the provisions established in regulatory enactments. On behalf of the suspects, accused, convicted, defendants or acquitted in the process advocate. According to Articles 45 and 55 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, lawyers may be representatives of a private prosecutor, a victim, civil plaintiffs and defendants. Other persons authorized by law are also entitled to advocate for the interests of entities involved in the process. In accordance with the decision of the justice of the peace, the representative of the victim, civil plaintiffs / defendants, private prosecutors may be one of the relatives or a person for whose admission to the proceedings these entities apply.
Protection of interests of certain categories of citizens
Of particular importance in practice is ensuring the protection of the freedoms and rights of minors and persons who, due to their mental or physical condition, are not able to speak independently in the process. According to the norms, their representatives (including legal ones) are involved to protect their interests. It should be noted that the provisions of procedural law prescribe the mandatory participation of these persons in criminal proceedings related to crimes committed by minors. The corresponding rule is established by article 48 of the CPC. Legal representatives are:
- Parents.
- Trustees.
- Adoptive parents.
- Guardians.
- Representatives of institutions in which the minor is located.
- Guardianship and custody.
Persons acting on behalf of civil defendants / plaintiffs, victims, private prosecutors have the same procedural rights as the entities they represent. The personal participation of the latter does not deprive them of the opportunity to attract citizens to protect interests in court.
Subjects - sources of evidence
This category of participants includes:
- Witnesses.
- The experts.
- Specialists.
These individuals are outside the categories discussed above. This is due to the fact that the testimonies of the accused, victims, suspects, convicted, acquitted, private prosecutors and other citizens also act as evidence. Of particular importance are the conclusions of specialists and experts. They act as confirmation or refutation of the conclusions made during the investigation. The court raises certain issues for these entities. The opinion of the experts / specialists serves as additional evidence, which the authority authorized to hear the case takes into account when making the final decision. As for the witnesses, they can be brought both by the prosecution and by the defense. For this, the court is lodged with the relevant application. All persons involved in the process are warned of responsibility for false testimony, as well as the right not to testify against relatives and themselves.
Assisting authorities and employees
This category of participants in legal proceedings is considered the largest. It, for example, includes:
- Correctional facilities, their leadership.
- Forensic medical and psychiatric hospitals, their administration.
- Witnesses, secretary, etc.
The heads of specialized institutions are involved in the process in cases stipulated by law. The court makes an appropriate ruling on this.