Systematicity and balance as essential features of the Russian criminal procedure

Stability of the criminal justice system is ensured by the presence of integrative relations between its elements, interdetermi-nation, interconnection and interpenetration of all elements. The set of rights and responsibilities of each participant in the criminal procedure should be balanced. The procedural statuses of all participants should be balanced, too, so that professional tasks, procedural functions, defending / representing one's interests are done most effectively. The criminal procedure is an ongoing process moving from initiation to its logical conclusion, consisting of a system of stages with their own tasks and purposes; and the competence of subjects and their different interests must be balanced as a whole, as well as at specific stages. When the balance and organization of the criminal procedure (like of other social life spheres) are satisfactory, the general purpose of criminal procedure achieved - to ensure social stability and public order. There appears to be no objective need to introduce other provisions into the criminal procedure law, such as, for example, a widely advertised «mediation». The current Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation provides an opportunity of reconciliation between the victim and the accused (defendant) for certain types of cases, and the best «mediator» here is not the entrepreneur, who inevitably promotes his / her financial interest, not only the interests of the «equal parties», but a state authority body, acting on its behalf - the court. The conclusion is that criminal procedure has its own system, structure, rules and axioms. They may not be as obvious as the rules governing the physical or chemical phenomena and objects, but it is unacceptable to ignore and break them. Otherwise it is hardly possible to expect to achieve success in the protracted criminal procedure reform in Russia.

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