Results of operational-investigative activities, their legal nature, place and role in criminal proceedings: modern problems of theory and practice

Within the framework of this article, the authors conduct a comparative legal analysis of the content of certain definitions and provisions of a theoretical and applied nature, related to the use of the results of operational-investigative activities in criminal proceedings in Russia. The authors propose a critical approach to the issue of recognizing them as independent evidence in a criminal case, substantiating their arguments with clarifications from the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, as well as the provisions of the Federal Law «On Operational- Investigative Activities» (hereinafter – FL «On OIA»). The key point of this research is the authors' proposals for amending certain norms of the articles of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter – CPC RF) in order to eliminate the legal uncertainty of the institute of using the results of operational-investigative activities in criminal proceedings, which currently exists in the legislation. Based on general scientific, logical, comparative legal, and eclectic methods of scientific research, the authors pursue the following goals: – to study and subject to comparative legal analysis the existing provisions of Article 11 of FL «On OIA» and Articles 140–144 of the CPC RF in the context of recognizing the results of OIA as independent grounds for initiating a criminal case; – to study and subject to comparative legal analysis the existing provisions of Articles 73–89 of the CPC RF, Article 11 of FL «On OIA», as well as clarifications from the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation regarding the place and role of OIA results in the proof process; – to formulate proposals for amendments and additions to certain norms of the CPC RF articles.