Publication date: 26.06.2024
active and purposeful military lawyer with more than 4 years of experience
Eye betting as an investigative action: meaning, procedure and problematic aspects
Introduction
An eye stake is one of the most important investigative actions in criminal proceedings. It allows you to directly compare the statements of two or more participants in the criminal process with the aim of clarifying discrepancies in their statements, exposing false statements and establishing the objective truth in the case.
It is difficult to overestimate the value of an eyewitness account, because it enables the investigator or prosecutor to discover the true circumstances of a criminal offense through direct communication and contrasting the testimony of persons who previously gave conflicting explanations about the same facts. Conducting a face-to-face bet can be a decisive factor in a successful investigation and subsequent trial.Legal regulation of the eye rate
The procedure for conducting face-to-face betting in Ukraine is regulated by the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine). In particular, Article 224 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine defines in detail the procedure for its implementation.
In accordance with the legislation, a face-to-face bet is made in case of significant contradictions in the testimony of previously interrogated persons. It can be initiated by the investigator, the prosecutor, and the defense side. At the same time, the investigating judge, the court has the right to instruct the investigator, the prosecutor to conduct an in-person assessment, if it is necessary to clarify the essential circumstances in the criminal proceedings.
In addition to the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, the legal regulation of the hourly rate is also contained in other normative legal acts, in particular the Instructions on the organization of undercover investigative (search) actions and the use of their results in criminal proceedings, approved by order of the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine , Administration of the State Border Service of Ukraine, Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, Ministry of Justice of Ukraine dated 11.16.2012 No. 114/1042/516/1199/936/1687/5.The purpose and grounds of direct bet
The main purpose of the face-to-face assessment is to clarify the essential circumstances of the criminal proceedings by directly comparing the testimony of two or more persons who previously gave conflicting explanations regarding the same facts.
In accordance with Article 224 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, a face-to-face bet is conducted in the event that significant contradictions are found in the testimony of previously questioned persons during the pre-trial investigation or trial. That is, an eye rate is a mandatory investigative action, if:
two or more persons were questioned;
significant discrepancies were found in their testimony.
It is worth noting that the presence of contradictions in the statements of persons is not the only reason for holding a face-to-face bet. It can also be appointed at the request of a party to the criminal proceedings, if the investigator, prosecutor, investigating judge, court deem it necessary to clarify the essential circumstances in the criminal proceedings.
The procedure for conducting a face-to-face bet
An eye bet is conducted by an investigator, a prosecutor, and in court proceedings - by an investigating judge, a court. If necessary, specialists (psychologists, translators, etc.) may be involved in its implementation.
The procedural procedure for conducting a face-to-face bet includes the following stages:
Preparation for an in-person bet:
determination of the goal and tasks of the eye rate;
selection of participants whose testimony contains contradictions;
preparation of the premises and necessary technical means;
familiarization of participants with rights and obligations.
Direct betting:
elucidation of profile data of participants;
clarification of the purpose and procedure of direct bet;
giving participants the opportunity to freely talk about the circumstances known to them;
clarification of contradictions in the testimony of the participants;
asking clarifying questions to the participants in order to clarify the essential circumstances;
recording the progress and results of the direct bet in the protocol.
Procedural registration of the results of the direct bet:
drawing up a protocol of a direct bet indicating all the circumstances of its conduct;
attachment of the protocol and other materials to the criminal proceedings.
The protocol of the face-to-face bet must contain the most detailed description of the course of its conduct, in particular: questionnaire data of the participants, their initial indications before conducting the face-to-face bet, contradictions discovered during it, explanations of the participants regarding the contradictions, recording of the reactions of the participants to questions and their behavior. Such a detailed protocol of the eye bet has important evidentiary value during the subsequent trial.Participants of the direct bet and their rights
In accordance with the current legislation, the participants of the direct bet can be:
suspect, accused;
victim;
witness;
other persons whose testimony contains contradictions.
Legislation provides certain rights to the participants of the direct bet, namely:
give explanations and objections;
ask questions to other participants of the face-to-face bet;
make a request;
use notes and documents;
get acquainted with the eye bet protocol and make comments on it.
You may be interested in reading articles on the following topics: 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 адвокатский запрос срок рассмотрения
