Returning a criminal case to the prosecutor and balancing public and private interests

Criminal proceedings, being public by their nature, require in civilised states a balance between public and private interests. The approaches of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation to determining this balance are not always accurately embodied by the legislator in newly adopted criminal procedural norms. In recent years, there has been a gradual strengthening of public principles and narrowing of the sphere of private interest in a number of institutions of criminal procedure law. This is illustrated by the legal institution of returning a criminal case to the prosecutor.