Реалізація права на апеляційне оскарження в кримінальному судочинстві

One of the most important features of a democratic legal state is the provision of human and civil rights. The state, guaranteeing everyone the protection of their rights and freedoms, ensures the possibility of obtaining such protection in the event of a person’s appeal to court. The right to review cases and appeal court decisions is one of the main principles of justice in Ukraine. If a court decision contains a judicial error, it must be corrected before this decision enters into legal force. The system of correction by the state of errors and violations made by its bodies creates a reliable guarantee and protection of both the interests of the participants in the case and the state and public interests combined with them. The means of putting this system into effect is primarily the right of the parties to appeal the decision of the first instance, regardless of its correctness. This right is a dispositive right of the participants in criminal proceedings, which they can freely use. Criminal proceedings are carried out by courts of general jurisdiction, whose powers include both resolving the issue of guilt (innocence) of a person in committing a crime in the process of considering a criminal case on the merits, and judicial control over compliance with the lawfulness of the activities of law enforcement agencies during their inquiry and pre-trial investigation. Appeal proceedings are a stage of criminal proceedings during which the appellate court checks the legality and validity of decisions and rulings of the court of first instance that have not entered into legal force. It is the appellate proceedings that make it possible to correct judicial errors in the shortest possible time, contribute to improving the quality of the work of courts of first instance and guide judicial practice in strict accordance with the requirements of the law. The article, based on a comparative analysis of the provisions of the current criminal procedural legislation and judicial practice, examines the features of the implementation of the right to appeal in criminal proceedings. The main problematic issues related to determining the circle of persons entitled to appeal, requirements for appeals and compliance with the provisions of the current criminal procedural legislation at the stage of accepting appeals are analyzed.