Seizure of property in criminal proceedings: historical and legal aspect

Attention is drawn to the heterogeneous practice of applying the norms of seizure of property as a measure of procedural coercion in criminal proceedings. This situation indicates that law enforcement officers have a different understanding of the goals and objectives of the said coercive measure, as well as a different interpretation of criminal procedural norms.The author of the article tries to find the reasons for the situation. The approach to the study of this problem is based on an integrated approach. The main methodological means of research is the historical and legal method of studying the historical path of the formation of the institution of coercive measures in the form of seizure of property.The results of the study were the development of criteria of differentiation and the author’s classification of the historical stages of the formation of this legal institution. Dividing the history of the formation of the seizure of property into five stages, according to the author, creates favorable conditions for a systematic approach. That is, the disparate factors influencing the legal regime of the functioning of the institute in each period are studied as interrelated and conditioned by the social, economic and mental characteristics of Russian society.