Any crime committed must not go unpunished. The guilty person is subject to criminal liability for his wrongful act and must be punished accordingly to the degree of gravity. In order to bring the criminal to justice, criminal prosecution is carried out against him. Evidence is being gathered to confirm his guilt, witnesses are questioned, searches are carried out, seizures are made, a measure of restraint is selected, and other investigative actions are taken.
The concept and types of criminal prosecution
This term refers to the procedural activities of the prosecution, aimed at exposing the specific suspect, accused, committing a crime. This activity is legally enshrined in the CPC.
It is customary to classify criminal prosecution into types depending on the nature of the crime, as well as the severity. It can be carried out:
- privately. For criminal cases of this category, a statement by the injured party is required. They can be terminated at any stage of the criminal process before being removed to the court deliberation room for sentencing. The list of articles of the Criminal Code relating to this category is given in Art. 20 Code of Criminal Procedure. This is defamation (Article 129, part 1), beatings (Article 116, part 1), insult (Article 130), etc.
- in public-private order. A statement by the victim is also necessary, but cases cannot be terminated due to reconciliation of the parties. As an exception to Art. 25 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the prosecutor has the right to terminate the case and criminal prosecution in cases specified in Article 76 of the Criminal Code if the offender commits a crime of minor or medium gravity, subject to reconciliation with the victim and the compensation for the harm caused. The same right is granted to the interrogating officer and investigator, but only upon the consent of the prosecutor).
This category includes: rape (Article 132, Part 1), violation of the secrecy of correspondence (Article 138, Part 1) and copyright (Article 146, Part 1), etc. Thus, cases of private prosecution and public-private excite only on the basis of a statement. However, there is an exception provided for in Art. 20 Code of Criminal Procedure. According to part 4, the prosecutor can initiate proceedings without an application if the victim depends in any way on the offender or cannot use his rights on his own for various reasons. The same right is granted to the investigator and the interrogating officer, but they can only exercise it with the consent of the prosecutor.
- publicly. These are all other criminal cases. They are excited regardless of the presence of a person’s statement when establishing the existence of a crime and are not subject to termination in case of reconciliation.
Criminal prosecution is carried out in different ways in connection with the need to take into account the interests of the victim himself, as often he may not be interested in initiating proceedings, especially when the offender is a close relative. In practice, there are frequent cases when victims “in the hearts” write a statement against their relatives, wanting to bring them under articles related to cases of public-private prosecution, and the next day they try to take the statement back, reconciled with the offender, but this is no longer possible. since the case is initiated and not subject to termination. That is why you should not make a decision "in a hurry."
Termination of prosecution
The grounds for termination are:
- the absence of a crime event, that is, if it did not take place in reality;
- lack of composition;
- death of a suspect;
- expiration of statutes of limitations;
- reconciliation of the parties;
- change of scenery;
- active remorse;
- non-participation of a person in a committed crime;
- an act of amnesty.