Ways to improve the effectiveness of appeal in pre-trial criminal proceedings

The article is devoted to the study of certain issues which, if resolved, will contribute to the enhancement of the effectiveness of appeal in pre-trial criminal proceedings. It is stated that regulatory gaps and the lack of uniform approaches to the grounds, conditions and procedure for applying the appeal institute do not allow for an effective mechanism of legal protection of violated substantive and procedural human rights. The author determines that formalized approaches to the appeal procedure have a negative impact on the effective achievement of the objectives (purpose) of appeal in pre-trial criminal proceedings. It is emphasized that the appeal against a notice of suspicion has regulatory shortcomings in terms of the lack of substantive and criminal procedural grounds for filing a complaint. At the same time, the author emphasizes that there are no grounds for appealing against the decision to put a person on the wanted list. Among the defects in the procedure for applying the institution of appeal, the author highlights the lack of criteria which determine the rules of jurisdiction for consideration of appeals against decisions, actions or omissions of the prosecution during the pre-trial investigation. The author examines the impact on the effectiveness of appeal of the possibility provided by procedural law to file a complaint against decisions, actions and omissions of the prosecution to the prosecutor. It is noted that within the framework of constitutional rights, it is important to provide for the possibility of appealing against certain decisions of investigating judges which affect fundamental human rights and freedoms. In particular, the author finds that the list of appealable decisions does not include decisions on determining jurisdiction and on conducting a search in urgent cases. At the same time, the author argues that it is necessary to introduce cassation appeal in pre-trial criminal proceedings, since the right to appeal in cassation is a practical implementation of the constitutional principle of criminal justice. The author also substantiates the need to regulate the procedure for pre-trial criminal proceedings during the filing and consideration of a constitutional complaint.