Criminal charge: scientific discourse and problems of legislative consolidation

Introduction: “free” use of the term criminal charge at the legislative level and in its official interpretation is largely a consequence of the scientific discourse on the essence of criminal charge, the controversy that has been waged for decades in the theory of criminal procedure on problems related to the concept of criminal charge. In the paper, the authors set a goal to consider the admissibility of polysemicity when using the concept of criminal charge, to identify possible aspects of this legal phenomenon that allow us to reveal its essence and the procedure for its implementation in criminal proceedings.