Suspect (CCP): Definition. Rights of the suspect. Article 46 of the Code of Criminal Procedure

All persons who in one way or another take part in criminal procedural legal relations are participants in the process (criminal proceedings) and, therefore, have a certain set of rights and obligations. In the modern literature on jurisprudence on this occasion there is a certain point of view. The concepts of the participant in the criminal process and its subject are identical.

The accused, the suspect, their defenders and representatives, as well as the civil plaintiff in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code are participants belonging to the defense side.

Suspect in the criminal trial: concept

The exhaustive notion of the accused is given in the first part of Art. 46. According to this legal norm, this person, against whom law enforcement bodies not only have suspicion of committing a specific crime, but also a certain procedural action has been committed . This may be a measure of restraint (according to Article 100), before an accusation is instituted or a criminal case is opened for private-public and public prosecution, or detention on suspicion.

When the primary investigative materials (turnout, statement, communication about the commission of a crime and documenting their verifications by the investigator, the inquiry body, the prosecutor, the investigator) have information that allows making the assumption that the criminal act was committed by a certain person, in The decision to institute a criminal case must be specified. After this, this person is referred to only as a "suspect". The CCP reflects this concept in a formal legal, narrow sense, and this should be borne in mind.

If, at the time of the institution of criminal proceedings , there is no information on such a person, and it appears only in the course of preliminary investigation, in the legal sense it will not be considered a suspect.

Status of the suspect in time

Note that the suspect (CCP RF emphasizes this) is in this status for a short (limited) time. So, if he was detained and further imprisoned, the time of his stay under it can not exceed ten days for the most part of crimes, which are reflected in the Special Part of the Criminal Code. The exception is the acts falling under the terrorist act, its preparation, assistance in implementation and some others. In these cases, the time increases to 45 days from the moment when the measure of restraint was chosen. If she was not chosen within two days, the suspect (CCP, Article 94, part 2) is to be released, and after this action, formally such person is no longer considered. However, during the production of the inquiry, the status can be maintained until the prosecutor makes an indictment.

Like other participants, a suspect in a criminal trial has not only certain duties, but also rights. Let us consider them in more detail.

The right to information about what exactly is suspected

This, perhaps, is the most important and dominant right of the suspect. Finding just such a status, a person has the right to know what exactly he is suspected of. Timely notification is the responsibility of the person conducting the preliminary investigation. You can implement this in several ways:

• Providing the person with a copy of (duly certified) decision to institute criminal proceedings against him, which reflects the reasons and reasons for adopting this decision, as well as the rules of criminal law, on the basis of which it was done;
• The indication of reasons and grounds for detention in the record of detention;
• An indication in the decision on the application of a certain measure of restraint in relation to a person before bringing him an official charge, the crime in which he is suspected.

It should be borne in mind that the suspect has the right (Article 46) to obtain copies of the above documents (resolution, protocol). Moreover, the delivery of documents must be carried out within 24 hours from the moment of their issuance or registration.

The right to testify or refuse to testify

The law allows a person suspected of committing a criminal act to give evidence and explanations about the suspicions concerning him. He can also refuse this action. In the first case, a person is warned that all his testimony in the future can be used in the criminal case as evidence, even if there is a refusal from them. However, there is an exception. If the suspect refuses his testimony, and at the time when they were given, the defender did not attend, the CCP does not count them in court.

As already mentioned above, this is a person's right, but not his duty. The suspect does not bear absolutely no responsibility for false information or for refusing to testify. The legislator considered that such an approach would be most optimal. Responsibility for false testimony can push a person to self-incrimination according to the long-known principle: "Of the two evils, you need to choose the least."

Right to defense

The suspect has the right to have a defender. The CCP allows its services and assistance to be used from the moment when the detention was actually carried out, from the time when a criminal case has been initiated against a person, as well as other actions carried out within the framework of criminal prosecution.

The right to provide evidence in the case

Article 46 in paragraph 4 of Article 4 gives the suspect the right to provide evidence. It can be implemented in reality by giving testimony or by providing investigative bodies or the prosecutor with material items that are directly relevant to the case. It can be various documents, items, audio and video materials, etc. Note that this right also has other participants in the CCP proceedings.

The right to declare a petition and challenges

Under the petition in jurisprudence understand the official request, representation about something. The suspect can send petitions not only for collecting new or additional evidence by investigative or verifying authorities that would have justified him, but also demanding that criminal proceedings against him be terminated, as well as providing opportunities for acquaintance with any procedural documents, acts, and so on. In any case, it is always subject to review by the investigator. The suspect or his defense counsel can never be refused to conduct investigative actions, including interrogation of witnesses or forensic examination, if the circumstances for which the petition was instituted are relevant to the criminal case.

The challenge, or in other words, the application for the removal of a participant in the proceedings from the case, can be claimed against the defender, expert, expert, interpreter, judge, prosecutor, investigator, investigator in circumstances that exclude their further participation in the proceedings.

Participation in investigative actions

The legitimate rights of the suspect to take part in the actions (investigative), which are carried out at his request (declared by him, the defender or the legal representative) with the permission of the investigator or investigator, acquaintance with the protocols of these actions, which were made with his direct participation and submission to them Remarks, are fixed in item 8, 9 ч. 4 st.46.

The law does not prohibit, at the same time, the suspect from participating in those actions of the investigation, which are carried out at the initiative of other participants in the process or the bodies of preliminary investigation.

Right to write a complaint

Both the suspect and the accused have the right to compose and file a complaint about inaction or actions and decisions of the judiciary, investigators and investigators, the prosecutor. The criminally-legal norms 125 and 126 are used to provide the security function in favor of the aforementioned persons. They reflect the procedure for filing a complaint, as well as the procedure for its consideration by the authorized bodies, which provides for a mandatory system for giving a response (notification of the outcome of the examination and the decision taken).

Right to notify relatives

At the request of the suspect within 12 hours from the moment of detention, the investigator, the inquirer or the prosecutor must notify one of his close relatives (in the case of their absence - other persons) about this, or give such an opportunity to himself. If the suspect is a national or a citizen of another country, this information should be reported to the embassy (consulate) of that state.

Of all the rules there are exceptions. And in this case too. These rights of a suspect (adult) may be violated if it is necessary to keep the fact of detention secret in the interests of the preliminary investigation. This is possible only with the approval of the prosecutor.

The right to an interpreter and an explanation in one's native language

It should be borne in mind that the explanations and testimonies of the suspect are not always provided in Russian. The Criminal Procedure Code gave this participant in criminal proceedings for the implementation of these actions in the language that he best knows, or his own. In this case, the investigator and the investigator must ensure that this right can be exercised, including by providing an interpreter on a free basis.

The language of the criminal case (state language or the language of one of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation) does not matter in this situation.

Summing up, it should be said that the suspect of the Code of Criminal Procedure has the right to defend himself by all available means and methods that are not prohibited by criminal law. For example, the right to freely search for, receive, transmit and reproduce, disseminate information, apply for assistance to the media, human rights organizations, etc., is enshrined in the Constitution.

Detention of a suspect

Detention is a measure of procedural coercion, which is applied against a suspect by a prosecutor, an investigator, inquiry agencies, an investigator for up to 48 hours. It can be applied if the punishment for a crime of which a person is suspected is deprivation of liberty, and if there is one of the grounds listed below:

• The person was caught when the crime was committed or immediately afterwards.
• Eyewitnesses and / or victims have pointed to the person as the person who committed the crime.
• On the man, with him, on his clothes, in the dwelling are found traces of the crime.

There are also specific features of the detention of persons suspected of having committed a crime and who have not reached the age of 18. It is made taking into account the above information. However, it should be remembered that persons under the age of 16 who committed crimes for the first time, classified as small and medium, do not receive a penalty of imprisonment.