On the Role of the Prosecutor in Initiating a Criminal Case and Initiating Criminal Prosecution

The paper shows that the consolidation of the functions of the prosecutor’s office of the Russian Federation at the constitutional level leads to the need to return to the question of the effectiveness and sufficiency of the prosecutor’s powers to independently initiate a criminal case, initiate criminal prosecution, and bring charges. The modern models of granting various subjects the authority to initiate and carry out criminal prosecution, to bring charges in criminal procedural comparative studies are identified and analyzed. They are: 1) a system of public prosecution, or a monocratic model, in which criminal prosecution is initiated exclusively by the decision of state bodies with appropriate special competence, primarily the prosecutor’s office (prosecutor’s monopoly); 2) an ex officio prosecution system, or a polycratic model, when the subject of criminal prosecution is any of the state bodies authorized to conduct proceedings in a case, there is no monopoly of one state body or official to initiate criminal prosecution; 3) a private prosecution system, when the subject of criminal prosecution is either the victim or his legal successors; 4) a “people’s” system charges, in which any private person has the right to initiate criminal prosecution, regardless of whether he is a victim or not. The conclusion is substantiated that Russia belongs to the states in which the polycratic ex officio model is combined with private prosecution in certain categories of cases, while, unlike most other states, the prosecutor is not among the officials authorized to initiate criminal proceedings and/or criminal prosecution. It is shown that the lack of powers of the prosecutor in pre-trial proceedings hinders the achievement of the purpose of criminal proceedings. It is concluded that it is necessary to return to the prosecutor the authority to initiate a criminal case independently.

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