The Consistency of Evidence as a Condition for Sentencing in a Special Order of the Trial
Abstract
Simplified procedures for proving charges are in demand in modern Russian criminal proceedings. The question of the fairness of the implementation of proceedings with their use remains complex and debatable one, it is relevant both in doctrinal terms and in connection with the significance and prevalence of the use of appropriate procedural forms. In this situation, the search for ways to optimize special procedures for the consideration of criminal cases in line with the basic principles of justice is of scientific interest. The purpose of the study is to identify shortcomings in the legal regulation of a special procedure for considering a criminal case with the consent of the accused with the charge brought, related to the assessment of its validity by the court, and, if found, to determine ways to eliminate them. The methodological basis of the study was up of general and particular methods of knowledge like the dialectical method, analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, a systematic approach, comparative legal, logical and legal ones. Author concludes without proper guarantees of judicial control over the legality and validity of a guilty verdict in a special procedure for criminal proceedings, an objective assessment of the reliability and sufficiency of the evidence of the prosecution is not provided and the main fundamental mechanisms of protection against unjustified conviction (in particular, the presumption of innocence) are paralyzed. The author has developed a new criterion designed to assess the validity of the accusation by the court when considering a criminal case in a special procedure of trial, which can be the consistency of evidence. It is argued that they are insufficient for passing a sentence if there is at least one evidence contradicting the prosecution in the case. In connection with this position and taking into account its discrepancy with the normatively fixed general rules for evaluating evidence, which have no exceptions, the necessity of specifying in the law the appropriate grounds for refusing to apply a special procedure for making a judicial decision is substantiated.
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