Publication date: 25.06.2024
active and purposeful military lawyer with more than 4 years of experience
Search: legal procedures and rights of citizens
Search is one of the most important and at the same time controversial tools of law enforcement. On the one hand, it allows to find evidence of crimes and detain suspects. On the other hand, the search significantly limits the constitutional rights and freedoms of a person, so it must be carried out strictly within the limits of the law.
Legal framework of search
The procedure for conducting a search is regulated by the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. In particular, Article 234 of the Criminal Procedure Code specifies that a search may be conducted for the purpose of identifying and recording information about the circumstances of the commission of a criminal offense, finding the instrument of a criminal offense or property obtained as a result of its commission, as well as establishing the location of wanted persons.
The search is carried out on the basis of the decision of the investigating judge.Exceptions are made only in cases where there are reasons to believe that due to the urgency of the case there is a real threat of destruction or concealment of things or documents that are of essential importance for criminal proceedings. Then the search can be carried out without prior permission, but it must be agreed with the court within 24 hours.
Rights of citizens during search
Citizens whose homes or other possessions are subject to search have a number of important rights that law enforcement officers must respect:
The right to be present during the search. The owner of the premises or his representative has the right to observe the actions of the investigators, record them on a video or photo camera.
The right to a lawyer. The owner or other legal owner of the premises can invite a lawyer who will monitor the observance of rights during the search.
The right to draw up a protocol. A report is drawn up about the fact, place, start and end time, as well as the results of the search, with which the participants are informed.
The right to appeal the search.If a person believes that the search was conducted with violations, he can challenge the actions of the investigators in court.
The right to damages. If, as a result of illegal actions of law enforcement officers, property damage was caused to the owner, he has the right to demand compensation for it.
In addition, the legislation prohibits searching a person's home or other possessions at night, except in urgent cases. It is also not allowed to inspect documents, letters, records and objects that may contain information protected by the law on professional secrecy.
Illegal actions during the search
Unfortunately, in practice, cases of violation of citizens' rights during searches often occur. Some of the most common abuses are:
Conducting a search without a court order or outside the scope of permission.
Refusal in the presence of the owner or his representative.
Removal of items that are not related to the case.
Property damage or improper handling.
Acquaintance with the content of documents not related to the proceedings.
Such actions can be qualified as abuse of authority, official negligence or even torture. Persons guilty of violating the rights of citizens are subject to disciplinary, administrative or criminal liability.
Search limits and reasonable balance
It should be understood that a search is a necessary investigative action in solving many crimes. However, it should be conducted exclusively within the framework of the law and with respect for the rights of citizens. Law enforcement officers must find a balance between the effectiveness of the investigation and respect for human dignity and the inviolability of private life.
In each case, it is necessary to carefully weigh the proportionality of the limitation of the individual's rights to the goals of the criminal proceedings. The court, when making a decision to conduct a search, must make sure that other, less onerous measures for the person, are not sufficient.And law enforcement officers are obliged to carry out this procedure as gently and delicately as possible in order to cause minimal inconvenience to citizens.
Only under the condition of strict compliance with the law and respect for human rights, the search can be an effective tool in the fight against crime. Violation of citizens' rights, on the contrary, undermines trust in the law enforcement system and harms the entire society.
Perhaps you will be interested in reading articles on such topics as: адвокатские запросы адвокатский запрос ответ на адвокатский запрос требования к адвокатскому запросу непредоставление ответа на адвокатский запрос сроки ответа на адвокатский запрос адвокатский запрос это рассмотрение адвокатского запроса об адвокатском запросе адвокатский запрос образец образец адвокатского запроса образец отказа на адвокатский запрос
