Анотація

The article examines problematic issues of the institution of detention from the point of view of ensuring proper legal procedure during criminal proceedings. The purpose of the article is to determine, based on the analysis of current criminal procedural legislation and scientific publications, the essence of detention as a coercive measure to ensure due legal procedure, to formulate proposals for the improvement of certain legal norms. For this purpose, two types of detention are analyzed: 1) detention of a suspect, accused on the basis of the decision of the investigating judge, the court for the purpose of pretext (Articles 187–191 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine); 2) detention of a person without a decision of an investigating judge, a court (Articles 207–208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine).

It is noted that the detention of a person without a decision of an investigating judge or a court is a coercive procedural action, which is carried out before entering information about a criminal offense into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations and the beginning of a pretrial investigation. Such detention occurs in connection with the commission of an act provided for by the current legislation on criminal responsibility, which is a sign of criminal proceedings (Clause 10, Article 3 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine). The purpose of detention is to stop a criminal offense and ensure that the guilty person is brought to criminal responsibility and ensure the effectiveness of the pre-trial investigation. Detention of a person at the place of commission (attempt) of a criminal offense without a decision of the investigating judge, the court can be considered as a legal fact containing reasons and grounds for starting a pre-trial investigation.

Attention is drawn to the fact that the current criminal procedural legislation regarding the institution of detention contains a number of contradictions and gaps, which make it unbalanced and unable to ensure a proper (fair) legal procedure. This refers to the legal regulation of detention of a person without a decision of an investigating judge or court, which contains inaccuracies and contradictions in the formulation of the grounds for the detention of persons who commit crimes and criminal misdemeanors, the terms of detention of suspects, confusion in the formulation of procedural orders. In order to eliminate the shortcomings, it is proposed, in particular, to include in Art. 298–2 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine in the following wording: «A person who has committed a criminal offense may be detained: 1) for no more than three hours from the moment of the actual detention to draw up a report; 2) up to twenty-four hours, if the person is in a state of alcohol, drug or other intoxication and may harm himself or others; 3) up to seventy-two hours to establish the identity, conduct a medical examination and clarify other circumstances of the commission of a complex criminal offense.»

Key words: criminal proceedings, procedural coercion, due legal procedure, legal detention, suspect.