Concept and stages of criminal proceedings

criminal process   - this is a legal term that is related to the justice and the activities of the investigative authorities in the commission of a crime. In each country, the criminal process is conducted according to certain rules and laws, while the legal order in this country is protected from any criminal encroachments.

The concept of a criminal process is rather complicated, since it contains not only the process itself, but also the stage that it passes. Stages are called independent, but interrelated 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, 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 general properties include:

1) Presence of immediate tasks, which follow from general tasks of legal proceedings.

2) The presence of a certain number of persons and bodies participating in this stage.

3) The procedural form (order) of activities, depending on the content of the tasks of the stage and the features of expressing certain rules and regularities in it.

4) The special nature of the criminal relations between the subjects of the criminal case.

5) The final decision, which completes all procedural actions and relations, which entails the transfer of the case to the next stage or to the stage of completion.

All stages form an integral system of complex criminal proceedings. They go by turns in a certain sequence. So, let's consider the main stages of the criminal process in more detail.

Pre-trial stages of criminal proceedings

Such stages include the initiation of criminal proceedings and the procedure for preliminary investigation. In the first stage, officials and plenipotentiary state bodies establish the grounds for proceeding in the case, which results in the initiation of criminal proceedings. This stage is an integral part of any case.

The next stage is a preliminary investigation. It is carried out by the investigative authorities in order to investigate the evidence in order to ascertain the presence or, on the contrary, the absence of the events of the crime, the circle of persons involved in the crime, the size and nature of the damage inflicted, and other important circumstances. There are cases when the stage of preliminary investigation is absent. In the case of its availability, it may result in either the termination of the case or the referral to the court.

Judicial stages of criminal proceedings

After the 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. The judge may appoint a court session, return the case for additional investigation, suspend the proceedings, refer the matter to the jurisdiction or terminate it.

If there is a petition of the accused to send the case to the jury, it must pass 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 is the trial. Here, the court examines the case and resolves the question of innocence or guilt of the defendant and the application of a certain criminal penalty. As a rule, the trial ends with sentencing, but there may be another outcome: dismissal of the case, referral for additional investigation, and others.

In cases where there are cassation protests and complaints, cassation proceedings are instituted, which consists in verifying by the higher court the validity of the decisions taken. Then follows the stage of execution of the sentenced judgment, which occurs either after the consideration of the case by the cassation court, or immediately after the announcement of the decision.

There are also additional stages of the criminal process, such as the resumption of cases for new circumstances and the production of supervisory proceedings.