The suspension of a preliminary crime investigation in emergency situations on the example of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19)

Purpose: To draft proposals for amending the Criminal Procedure Law, aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the functioning of the criminal proceedings’ system in emergency settings. Methodology: Used in the research include legalistic and static methods. Results: The author has devoted deals with the issues of compliance and saving procedural periods within the framework of criminal proceedings in the event of an emergency, as well as the issues of guaranteeing the rights of participants in criminal proceedings. The author’s analysis of the current criminal procedure legislation and legislation, regulating vital functions of society in emergency situations, as well as the examination of practice in its application on the example of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed that there is no specific procedure for criminal proceedings in emergency situations, which makes difficulties for law-enforcers and results in rights violations of participants in the criminal justice process. Amendments to the current criminal procedure legislation, proposed by the author, aimed at confronting the mentioned issues, and specifically it was proposed to expand the part 1 of article 208 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation paragraph 5, which allows for the possibility of the suspension of a preliminary investigation in the case of emergency situations, therefore criminal proceedings is impossible. Novelty/originality/value: The author has conditioned by the fact that previously the juridical science has not taken into proper account the issues of the criminal proceedings in emergency settings.