The Importance of the Institution of Private Prosecution for the Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence

Introduction: the presented paper analyzes the scientific and practical literature on the preservation of private prosecution as an institution in criminal proceedings from the perspective of protecting the rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests of citizens involved in the sphere of domestic conflicts, as well as contributing to the prevention thereof. In this regard, the purpose of the study of this legal category is a comparative legal analysis of the theoretical and applied positions on the need to preserve private prosecution in criminal proceedings and the development of the most optimal ways to improve this institution in order to balance the interests of justice and take into account the interests of citizens in resolving criminal law conflicts arising on domestic grounds, as well as protecting victims of domestic violence. Methods: the methodological framework for the research is based on general scientific methods (dialectical, systemic, structural and functional, logical, etc.) and specific scientific methods (formal legal, comparative law, etc.). Results: the problem of the insufficient effectiveness of private prosecution in protecting the rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests of citizens should be solved not by abandoning this institution but by simplifying legal proceedings and broadening the powers of a justice of the peace, including granting him the right to give instructions on the conduct of certain investigative actions by the body of inquiry. Subject to the foregoing, the institution of private prosecution as a way of protecting individual rights not only has the right to exist but also organically fits into the domestic criminal procedure system. Conclusions: in the fight against domestic violence, the efforts of the state should be focused on eliminating its causes, and abandoning the institution of private prosecution or leaving it unchanged does not correlate with these tasks. It is inappropriate to make the effectiveness of combating domestic violence dependent on the elimination or preservation of the institution of private prosecution. It should be recognized that a set of legislative, organizational, and methodological measures is required aimed at countering and eradicating such a social phenomenon.