The role of the prosecutor in compliance with the terms of criminal investigation in an abbreviated form of inquiry

The establishment of the inquiry in an abbreviated form in the criminal procedure legislation of Russia provides considerable procedural savings when investigating the so-called “obvious crimes” and allows one to simplify and speed up criminal proceedings. The research subject is the implementation of the prosecutor's supervision of the compliance with procedural time limits during a criminal investigation in an abbreviated form of inquiry. The authors consider the relationship between the prosecutor and the investigator at the pre-trial stages of criminal proceedings during a preliminary investigation in a reduced form of inquiry. The research resulted in a range of the proposals to amend the legislation and the following practical recommendations. Firstly, the Chapter 32.1 of the Russian Federation Code of Criminal Procedure is to include a written consent of the victim given only once while approving the application of the suspect for the inquiry in an abbreviated form. Secondly, it is proposed to exclude the provisions on the possibility of extending the inquiry in an abbreviated form up to 20 days from Part 2 of Article 226.6 and Part 9 of Article 226.7 of the Russian Federation Code of Criminal Procedure. Thirdly, to prevent blurring of the boundaries between two forms of inquiry in terms of their procedure, it is recommended to delete Paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Article 226.8 of the Russian Federation Code of Criminal Procedure. An opportunity to carry out the inquiry in a general manner should be kept in case of violations. Finally, to avoid self-incrimination and the return of the criminal case by the court when the indictment is issued, the prosecutor must ensure that the application for the inquiry in an abbreviated form is voluntary. Besides, the prosecutor is to identify whether the suspect was aware of the consequences of such application followed by the conviction that should be reflected in a receipt for receiving a copy of the indictment by the accused.