Prospects for the Implementation of Mediation in the Russian Criminal Procedure based on a Comprehensive Analysis of the Criminal Procedure Legislation of Russia and Some CIS Countries

The current stage of development in Russian criminal procedure law is characterized by the search for optimal solutions to the problems facing criminal proceedings, including ensuring the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of crime victims. In this regard, the views of procedural law scholars and practitioners are increasingly turning to the mediation procedure, used in other types of legal proceedings, which allows for the settlement of disputes between parties on a mutually acceptable basis. At the same time, the experience of several CIS member states (the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Belarus, and the Republic of Kyrgyzstan), which have introduced mediation into criminal proceedings is of interest. Purpose: based on a comprehensive analysis of Federal Law No. 193-FZ of July 27, 2010, “On Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures with the Participation of a Mediator (Mediation Procedure)”, and the current Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, as well as the legislation of the CIS member states that use mediation procedures in criminal proceedings, to study the prospects for introducing this procedure in the national criminal procedure and to propose ways to improve the legislation in this area. Methods: comparative law (used in the study of the criminal procedure legislation of the CIS member states); formal and dialectical logic (these methods are used to investigate the interrelationships between phenomena and to formulate general conclusions); interpretation of legal norms (applied to clarify the meaning of legal provisions and to address existing gaps). Results: the study concludes that it is possible to extend mediation procedures to criminal proceedings, provided that appropriate amendments are made to both the law governing mediation in general and the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. The study also formulates specific proposals for improving the current legislation, taking into account the experience of some CIS member states.