CONDUCTING EXAMINATION IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS: HISTORICAL ASPECT

The history of the formation of a democratic procedure in Ukraine for the use of special knowledge in criminal proceedings is studied. It is noted that in the Soviet period this procedure was not democratic, only an investigator had the right to appoint an expert. This procedure for appointing an examination allowed to appoint it quite quickly. But the investigator could also avoid conducting an examination for certain reasons, he could reject the request to conduct it for certain reasons. Ukraine inherited such a legal procedure after the declaration of independence. A new procedure for examination was established by the Criminal Procedure Code only in 2012. The article analyzes the shortcomings in the legal regulation of the procedure of examinations after the entry into force of the CPC of Ukraine in 2012, which were eliminated during the update of the criminal procedure legislation. The importance of consolidating the equality of rights of the parties to criminal proceedings to conduct examinations is noted. It is noted that the decision to conduct an examination is made by the party to the criminal proceedings, which prepares the relevant materials. The urgency of this order, its importance in the formation of the system of evidence and in the very procedure of proving in adversarial criminal proceedings is emphasized. Problematic issues of the procedure for appointing examinations by investigating judges are revealed. This procedure has led to the practical blocking of the work of both courts and pre-trial investigation bodies. Given that a significant number of suspects in serious and especially serious crimes were in custody, the situation looked critical. It was the signs of the collapse of criminal proceedings that forced us to make urgent changes to the procedure for appointing and conducting forensic examinations, which was carried out in 2019. Therefore, the involvement of experts is carried out by the parties to the criminal proceedings or by the investigating judge at the request of the defense. As a result, the parties to the criminal proceedings received equal rights to use special knowledge. The conclusion is substantiated that this is a necessary condition for ensuring a high-quality investigation of criminal offenses.