PROCEDURAL COSTS IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS INITIATED IN CONNECTION WITH CRIMINAL OFFENCES COMMITTED BY MINORS: THE IMPACT OF REASONABLE ALLOCATION ON THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF THE COUNTRY

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to reveal the essence and content of procedural costs in criminal proceedings initiated upon the fact of criminal offences committed by minors; to define the concept, essence and content of procedural costs in the current criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine; to study the problems of criminal proceedings and judicial proceedings in relation to minors; to consider the principle of procedural economy in criminal proceedings. A scientific discussion of the problem of unification of the provisions of the criminal and criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine with a view to ensuring a full pre-trial investigation, trial proceedings and determination of appropriate types of punishment for minor offenders has been presented. The concept of procedural costs in criminal proceedings in Ukraine was improved and methods of their implementation through the provisions of the national criminal procedural legislation were determined. The authors' understanding of the main distinguishing features of procedural costs is presented. The practice and legal positions of the Supreme Court regarding the limits and methods of covering the costs of proceedings have been considered. It has been established that the principle of procedural economy in the criminal justice system has been implemented by ensuring the smooth functioning of all court instances and the up-to-date comprehensive normalisation of investigative situations that may arise in the pre-trial investigation process and the selection of full investigative (research) and covert investigative (research) actions, with the aim of avoiding cases of repeated procedural measures to ensure the proper course of evidence. Results. It has been established that the procedural expenses in the criminal proceedings of Ukraine should be understood as the material damage provided by the criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine, caused by ensuring the needs of the pre-trial investigation and court proceedings, in particular, related to the process of evidence and realisation of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the parties and other participants in the criminal proceedings. The essence and meaning of the procedural costs are realised through the prism of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (in particular, Article 124, which regulates the peculiarities of the distribution of the procedural costs), which ensure the protection of the state and the persons who have been the victims of a criminal offence from possible material losses that may arise in the course of conducting pre-trial investigation and trial. The main distinguishing feature inherent in the content of procedural costs is the form in which the decision to recover them is made – a court verdict or a court ruling. It has been proved that in modern conditions, in the context of criminal proceedings against minors, the following issues remain to be solved as a matter of urgency 1) improvement of the norms of criminal procedural legislation in the part of criminal proceedings against minors under the conditions of the special legal regime of martial law; 2) improvement of the personnel provision of the judicial system with regard to the selection of candidates for the position of a judge who conducts judicial review of cases of minors; 3) improvement of the procedure for carrying out investigative (search) actions in criminal proceedings initiated due to the fact of commission of a criminal offence by minors; 4) establishment of international cooperation in the pre-trial investigation of transnational criminal offences committed in complicity with minors. It was concluded that, in order to maintain the economic cycle, it is necessary to ensure a balance between the procedural costs within the framework of criminal proceedings and court costs for legal proceedings and the funds that go to the state budget. This includes, in particular, the establishment of a mechanism for compensating persons who have committed criminal offences and the normalisation of types of punishment with an emphasis on material punishment. Special attention should also be paid to improving the work of the courts of first instance in order to avoid cases being reviewed in the courts of appeal and cassation.