USE OF PRE-TRIAL INVESTIGATION MATERIALS DURING THE TRIAL OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE: THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS

Abstract

The article concludes that the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine do not oblige the prosecutor, who supports the accusation in the court of first instance, to send to the court together with the indictment, the petition for the release of a person from criminal responsibility, the application of coercive measures of a medical or educational nature, all materials pretrial investigation, although they are of great importance during the trial of criminal proceedings at this stage of the criminal process. In many cases, this leads to the fact that the prosecutor sends to the court only those materials that indicate the guilt of the suspect, the accused (in the case of sending a petition for the release of a person from criminal responsibility or an indictment), as well as persons in relation to whom the question of application is raised coercive measures of a medical or educational nature (in case of sending a request for this). Instead, those materials that exonerate the mentioned persons, or determine the circumstances mitigating their responsibility, as well as grounds for recognizing the received factual data as inadmissible evidence, are hidden from the participants of the trial and the court itself. At the same time, the absence of all pretrial investigation materials in the court affects the speed and objectivity of establishing the circumstances of the commission of a criminal offense, researching evidence of the guilt or innocence of the accused, and making a legal and fair court decision. In the opinion of the author, the mentioned shortcoming is subject to legislative correction by introducing amendments and additions to the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, which he proposes.