International legal and constitutional framework for restricting the rights and freedoms of participants in criminal proceedings

The restrictions of individual rights in criminal proceedings are legally based on provisions of international acts on human rights, provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. The main goals for the achievement of which the rights and freedoms of the individual may be restricted include the satisfaction of the just requirements of morality, public order and general welfare; protection of the constitutional order, health, rights and legitimate interests of other people, ensuring the defense of the country and the security of the state. The rights which can be restricted under the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and which are implemented in the course of criminal proceedings, include the right to liberty and security of person; the right to privacy of correspondence, telephone conversations, postal, telegraphic and other communications; the right to privacy of home. The constitutional rights that can be restricted in criminal proceedings on the basis of the law without a direct indication in the relevant article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation are the right to private property (when seizing property) and the right to labour (in case of temporary suspension from office). Detention and house arrest in criminal proceedings may limit such constitutional rights as the right to freely seek, receive, transmit, and disseminate information; the right to peaceful assembly, rallies and demonstrations, marches and picketing; the right to access public service; the right to participate in the administration of justice; the right to education; the right to use cultural institutions, to access cultural property. The limits of individual rights can only be determined based on clear and justified criteria, providing for a balance of private and public interests (legality, reasonableness, proportionality). Legality implies that law establishes the restriction of human rights; the law cannot be arbitrary or unreasonable. Reasonableness means that the degree and nature of the restrictions correspond to those socially significant goals for the provision and protection of which they are introduced, and the grounds for the restriction correspond to the actual circumstances. Proportionality implies that socially significant interests can be placed above the rights of an individual only if they correspond to socially significant legitimate goals, and the scope of restrictions does not exceed the level necessary to protect public interests.

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