The issues of improving the activities of the prosecutor's office in criminal proceedings

Introduction: the prosecutor in criminal proceedings is one of the main participants of the prosecution, who has state powers related to the supervision over the procedural activities of the preliminary investigation bodies. The active position of the prosecutor determines the state of legality in the law enforcement activities of the investigation and inquiry bodies necessary to respect the rights and legitimate interests of parties to a criminal proceeding. For the exercise of procedural powers by the prosecutor, the scope of tasks stipulated by human rights activities and ensuring the safety of parties to a proceeding is provided. However, the scope of these powers has been significantly reduced, and therefore is insufficient for the effective supervision in the pre-trial stages of the criminal process. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to identify the main activities of the prosecutor in the implementation of criminal prosecution and supervision over the procedural activities of the investigator and the interrogating officer, based on the principles of legality, unity and centralization. The objectives of the study include: the assessment of the prosecutor’s activities and his functions in pre-trial proceedings; the development on this basis of proposals to improve the legal status of the prosecutor. Methods: the methodological framework for the study is the general scientific systematic method of cognition, through which the approaches are formulated, caused by the increasing importance of the procedural activities of the prosecutor’s office at the stages of initiation of a criminal case and preliminary investigation as the main law enforcement agency that supervise the implementation of the rule of law regime as the systemic integrity of certain norms of law governing legal relations in pre-trial proceedings. Results: the authors’ position on the content of the prosecutor’s supervision over the procedural activities of the preliminary investigation bodies is reasoned, which corresponds to the human rights role and the constitutional guarantees of the recognition of human and civil rights and freedoms as the highest human value whose protection is a direct responsibility of the state. Conclusions: the implementation of the results obtained by the paper’s authors will optimize the idea of the need to improve the legal status of the prosecutor, caused by the requirement of establishing the uniform supervisory powers of the prosecutor to investigate and inquire, giving him the right to initiate criminal proceedings, as well as to balance the procedural powers of the prosecutor and the head of the investigative body, for more effective implementation of the prosecutor’s supervisory function.