Procedural independence of the investigator and the right of appeal

Despite a thorough study of the issues of procedural independence of the investigator in the scientific literature and proposals to strengthen it in modern conditions, no unified approaches have yet been developed to find ways to optimize the regulatory regulation of this phenomenon. The author supports the view that the investigator's procedural independence should be considered as his special legal state, in which he remains, interacting with such powerful subjects of criminal proceedings as the head of the investigative department, the prosecutor and the court. The article critically evaluates proposals to introduce an investigative apparatus into the judicial system, and argues for the need to strengthen the investigator's procedural independence in a different way - through clear and detailed regulation of his right to appeal decisions of these authorities. The article proposes to establish a "backup mechanism" for an investigator to appeal against the decision of the head of the investigative department to the supervising prosecutor, given the "interdepartmental" nature of the appeal to a higher head of the investigative department, which does not always allow the investigator to achieve the objectivity of the consideration of his complaint. The author provides arguments justifying the need to empower the investigator to bring appeals (as well as cassation and supervisory) complaints to higher courts based on the results of the court's consideration of petitions and complaints in judicial control proceedings. With reference to the legal positions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the author argues that the investigator is interested in the possibility of negative disciplinary consequences for him following the court's consideration of appeals from participants in criminal proceedings, petitions and complaints, which allows him to be considered as an appropriate subject of appeal in the appeal, cassation and supervisory procedures.