Anomalies of the legal status of the inquiry bodies

A feature of the legal status of the inquiry bodies is that they have no uniform procedural status: some have full powers (for the conduct of preliminary investigations in the form of initial inquiries, urgent investigative actions and execution of various instructions from the preliminary investigation bodies and the prosecutor), while others use only some of them. Certain powers are exercised by the inquiry bodies outside the scope of criminal procedure, which calls into question the legality of classifying such bodies as participants in criminal proceedings. The attribution of all inquiry bodies to the prosecution is ambiguous, as the exercise of some powers is not linked to the prosecution. The qualitative difference between the inquiry bodies needs to be explained, which is expressed in the fact that in some cases they are collective entities, and in other cases they are individual officials. The purpose of the study is to explain the anomalies of the legal status of the inquiry bodies, which requires the solution of a set of tasks: defining the terms of reference, the exercise of which is not connected with the participation of the inquiry bodies in criminal proceedings; determining the procedural function of the inquiry bodies which perform within the framework of criminal procedure, the instructions of the preliminary investigation bodies and the prosecutor; explaining the attribution of the powers of the inquiry body to both state bodies with internal organization, and to individual officials. The methodological basis of the study is the dialectical method. General scientific methods of analysis, synthesis and a systematic approach are used, as well as special legal methods such as logical, legal, historical and the method of legal interpretation. Results: the study shows that the concept of «inquiry bodies» covers not only different participants in criminal proceedings (performing different procedural functions), but also subjects which are not participants in criminal proceedings. In particular, the inquiry bodies that carry out orders for the conduct of certain investigative actions, the execution of orders for detention, remand in custody, arrest, etc. perform the function of facilitating criminal proceedings. In this regard, it is concluded that the law incorrectly attributes all inquiry bodies to the prosecution.