IS THE ADVERSARIAL JUDICIAL INVESTIGATION UNDER THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURAL CODE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION REASONABLE?

The article deals with some opinions of scientists who estimate the adversarial provisions of judicial investigation under the current Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation and analyze some relevant provisions of the law. The author doesn't justify the opinion to introduce into the national criminal procedural law the concept of "pure" (or "full") adversarial system that presupposes the maximum restrictiveness of the court activity preventing the truthful ascertainment of facts in a criminal case. Having analyzed the norms of current national criminal procedural law the author concludes that the concept of "pure" (or "full") adversarial system has not been realized in it and its adversarial provisions especially those which regulate the judicial investigation are of a reasonable character. The author shows that the above provisions give the parties to criminal trial real possibilities to express and uphold their interests by way of stating and substantiating of the position in the criminal case. Thus, the parties to a trial, i.e. defense and prosecution get a serious motivation to gather and present evidence to substantiate their positions. A subsidiary activity of the court in examining the facts of a case is also ensured and that enables the court to initiate the collection of evidence. Finally, adversarial provisions of a judicial investigation create the conditions to prevent a unilateral, biased and incomplete examination of the facts of the case by the court. The author believes that the limits of independent examination and collection of evidence by the court are determined by the very character of research activity of the court i.e. the observance of such its necessary procedural conditions as directness, oral nature, publicity and adversarial character in terms of obligatory and active participation of the parties, etc. Thus, adversarial provisions of judicial investigation under the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation create the conditions for realization of the court's intention to truthful ascertainment of the facts in a criminal case. This has been postulated due to connections of national criminal process with a continental legal system.