Conceptual principles of human rights protection during pre-trial investigation under extraordinary legal regimes

The article examines the theoretical and practical aspects of ensuring human rights and freedoms during pre-trial investigation under the legal regime of martial law. The relevance of the study is due to the unprecedented challenges that faced the law enforcement and judicial systems of Ukraine after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in 2022. In conditions of active hostilities, partial occupation of territories and the functioning of state institutions in a special regime, the issue of ensuring a balance between the effectiveness of criminal prosecution and compliance with fundamental rights and freedoms becomes particularly acute. The paper analyzes the regulatory legal acts regulating the criminal process during a special period, identifies the main problems and gaps in the legislation. Particular attention is paid to changes to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, in particular the introduction of Art. 615, which significantly expands the powers of the prosecutor in martial law. Specific mechanisms for restricting the rights of citizens during martial law are considered, in particular the right to freedom and personal inviolability, the right to inviolability of housing, the right to secrecy of correspondence and the right to defense. The international experience of ensuring the balance between national security and human rights in armed conflicts is studied, the compliance of national legislation with the standards defined in international documents is analyzed. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive analysis of the issues of ensuring human rights and freedoms during pre-trial investigation in martial law, taking into account the latest judicial practice of the Supreme Court. The author’s classification of legal norms that regulate the features of pre-trial investigation in martial law is proposed, both by the subject of regulation and by the criterion of the hypothesis of the legal norm. Specific proposals have been formulated to improve the mechanisms of judicial control and prosecutorial supervision of the observance of rights and freedoms during pre-trial investigation in special conditions.