Protecting the Defendant's Rights in the Consideration of the Prosecutor's «Anti-Corruption Claims»

The paper addresses the issue of the legal nature of the prosecutor's «anti-corruption claims» and the procedural means available to protect the defendant's interests. The author argues that anti-corruption demands seeking the transfer to the state of property unlawfully acquired by a citizen are of a public-law nature and should be considered not within the framework of claim-based (civil) proceedings, but rather under administrative court proceedings. Claim-based proceedings, being a form of protection of private rights, do not provide mechanisms for safeguarding the weaker party to the dispute, which is the citizen in cases initiated based on a prosecutor's «anti-corruption claim». The lack of equality between the disputing parties in such cases should be offset by special procedural rules governing their consideration and resolution. When examining these cases, the court should adopt an active stance: on its own initiative, it should request the necessary evidence, go beyond the stated claims and arguments of the parties, and act in the interests of both the state and the citizen, the latter being the weaker party in the disputed legal relationship.