Should the Russian Federation reform the preliminary investigation authorities?

Well-structured preliminary investigation authorities are a guarantee of consolidation of legality, crime reduction, rapid and full detection and investigation of crimes committed as one of the main conditions of the court’s fair and reasonable sentence. The establishment of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, a new independent state body having significant structural features, in the criminal justice system has not resolved the issues of the departmental investigative branch that have remained to date. This paper discusses the reforming challenges of the preliminary investigation authorities in the Russian Federation. The research analyzes different points of view on issues related to the merger of investigative bodies. The author suggests that the establishment of a unified investigative body will reduce the efficiency and reliability of the entire law enforcement system. The study examines the practices of the preliminary investigation authorities in the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan. The author concludes that the pre-trial proceedings system in the Russian Federation should be comprehensively reviewed as a whole.