CRIMINAL LAW AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE. INFORMATION LAW AND SECURITY

Eurasian Typology of Investigative Model of Pre-Trial Criminal Proceedings

Abstract

The typological model of preliminary investigation in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia is examined and substantiated on the basis of genetic characteristics and a comparative analysis of criminal procedural systems, enabling the identification of general patterns, regional specificities, and national institutional distinctions. In this context, the historical prerequisites for the establishment of an independent investigative body are analyzed, with particular attention paid to the asymmetry that existed between the procedural status of the investigator and their organizational disposition – an issue that, for a considerable period, remained a stumbling block in Soviet and post-Soviet procedural doctrine.

The advantages of establishing an autonomous investigative body are identified, including enhanced effectiveness of investigative activities, the elimination of the investigator’s administrative dependence on inquiry bodies and the prosecutor’s office, as well as the optimization of departmental oversight mechanisms. The author emphasizes the uniqueness of the historically developed organizational configuration in the form of an Investigative Committee, which, however, has acquired specific features in each of the states under consideration.

The study substantiates the conclusion that the formal establishment of a separate investigative body does not necessarily guarantee the procedural independence of the investigator; the latter is undermined by the persistence of elements of the Soviet model, as well as by the expansion of the powers of the head of the investigative body and the prosecutor. Based on the conducted comparative analysis, the paper proposes avenues for optimizing the investigative model, aimed at restoring the inherent role of the investigator as an independent subject of proof, committed to establishing objective truth.