criminal process - This is a legal term that is associated with justice and the activities of investigative authorities in the commission of a crime. In each country, the criminal process is conducted according to certain rules and laws, while the law and order existing in that state is protected from any criminal attacks.
The concept of the criminal process is quite complex, as it contains not only the process itself, but also the stage that it goes through. Stages are called independent, but interconnected parts of the process, which are separated by the final decision and are characterized by certain tasks, the circle of persons and bodies involved in the case, the procedural procedure and the nature of criminal relations.
All stages of the criminal process have a number of properties that are common to each of them. These common properties include:
1) The presence of immediate tasks that arise from the general tasks of the proceedings.
2) The presence of a certain circle of persons and bodies involved in this stage.
3) The procedural form (order) of activity, depending on the content of the tasks of the stage and the features of the expression in it of certain rules and patterns.
4) The special nature of criminal relations between the subjects of a criminal case.
5) The final decision, completing all procedural actions and relationships, which entails the transition of the case to the next stage or to the stage of completion.
All stages form an integral system of a complex criminal process. They take turns in sequence. So, we will consider the main stages of the criminal process in more detail.
Pre-trial stages of the criminal process
Such stages include the initiation of a criminal case and the preliminary investigation procedure. In the first stage, officials and authorized state bodies establish the basis for the proceedings, the result of which is the act of initiating a criminal case. This stage is an integral part of any business.
The next step is a preliminary investigation. It is carried out in the initiated case by the inquiry bodies to examine evidence in order to establish the presence or, on the contrary, absence of crime events, the circle of persons involved in the crime, the size and nature of the damage caused, and other important circumstances. There are cases when the preliminary investigation stage is absent. In the case of its presence, it can end either with the termination of the case, or by sending one to the court.
The judicial stages of the criminal process
After a pre-trial investigation, the case is sent to the court of first instance, where the judge gets acquainted with the materials and makes a certain decision. A judge may schedule a hearing, return the case for additional investigation, suspend proceedings, direct the case on jurisdiction or terminate it.
If there is a petition from the accused to send the case to the jury, it must undergo a preliminary hearing in accordance with the rules prescribed in the CPC.
After preparation for the meeting, one of the most important stages of the criminal process follows - this is a trial. Here the court considers the case and decides on the innocence or guilt of the defendant and on the application of a specific criminal punishment. As a rule, the trial ends with a sentencing, but there may be another outcome: the termination of the case, referral to an additional investigation and others.
In cases of cassation protests and complaints, a cassation proceeding is instituted, which consists in verifying by a higher court the validity of the decisions taken. This is followed by the stage of execution of the sentence, which occurs either after the hearing of the case by the court of cassation, or immediately after the announcement of the decision.
There are also additional stages of the criminal process, such as reopening of cases under new circumstances and supervisory review proceedings.