Institution of Investigating Judges: Genesis and Transformation of the Legal Model

The judicial reform in Russia goes on and many provisions of the Concept of Judicial Reform of 1991 have been implemented. However, the institutions of investigating and penitentiary judges, provided by the Concept as a specialization of justices of the peace, have not yet been introduced. Academic and public discussion about the institution of investigative judges has intensified since 2014. Nowadays, there are several procedural models of this legal institution. However, the legal status of the investigating judge appears to be insufficiently developed. Using comparative and formal legal methods of research, the author examines the legal experience of postSoviet states that declare the formation of the institution of investigating judges in their judicial system to conclude that an investigating judge in many states has become a participant in criminal proceedings, but the institution of investigative judges has not been segregated into a separate judicial body, so the legal status of the investigating judge has not formed. In this regard, the author examines the institution of investigative judges of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in which it has undergone a significant transformation: from an investigating judge as a procedural figure to separate specialized investigative courts. Having studied the experience and recommendations of international expert organizations, the Republic of Kazakhstan is developing the idea of the institution of investigating judges in some possible perspective directions: finalization of the legal status of a judge of a specialized investigative court, harmonization of judicial and procedural legislation. Projecting the Kazakh model of a specialized investigative court onto the Russian judicial system, it is proposed to introduce specialized investigative courts in the Russian Federation with functionality that predominantly involves the exercise of judicial control functions. At the same time, the author notes that judicial control takes place both at the pre-trial stages of criminal proceedings and at the stage of execution of the judicial verdict. In this regard, it seems expedient to further build up the competence of a specialized investigative court and, on its basis, create a specialized investigative and penitentiary court, which in the future can become the basis for the formation of a national human rights court, the creation of which was proposed at a meeting of President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin with members of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, held in December 2020.

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