The prosecutor's right to manage the charges in the court and its limits

The Anglo-Saxon and continental types of criminal proceedings in the course of their historical development developed their own rules relating to the change of charges in the court of first instance. The Anglo-Saxon criminal procedure does not allow full and substantial change of the charges in the court of first instance, as well as changes in charges to deteriorate the situation of the defendant, at the same time it provides for other rules and means to protect the interests of the criminal justice system and the achievement of its objectives to a certain extent. Such rules (means) are divisibility of claims in the accusation, which follows from the doctrine of implied ("inclusive") offenses, alternative charges, the possibility in some cases of prosecution and conviction for the same offense. In contrast, the continental criminal procedure, whose purpose is to achieve the objective (material) truth, allows broader changes of charges including deteriorating the situation of the defendant, while establishing some rules to ensure the defendant's right to defense. It is concluded that such features of the continental criminal procedure as purpose - the achievement of the objective (material) truth, and the active role of the court in the trial due to the high degree of publicity in its activities have had a significant influence on the approach to the change of charges in court, according to which the subject of changing charges in the court of first instance in a criminal trial of the continental type is the court only, while the prosecutor merely expresses an opinion, stating the need to make a change in the charges. The main purpose of the criminal procedure of the Anglo-Saxon type (UK, USA) is the solution of a conflict that exists due to the commission of the crime, and the activity of the court is mainly manifested in governing the process. The court is passive when proving the facts of a criminal case. The public prosecutor is the representative of the state with all the rights to rule the accusation - criminal lawsuit, including the material law of the state to punish the offender. In this case, these rights are discretionary. In the criminal procedure of the continental type (France, Germany), the main purpose is to achieve the objective (material) truth, the court is responsible for this task in the court of first instance. In this connection, the court is an active subject of proof and must in all cases to consider the accusation, which indicates the high degree of manifestation of publicity in the court activity. The state and society do not provide the prosecutor in the continental criminal trial with the opportunity to dispose of the material law to punish the offender. Thus, the prosecutor has no regulatory powers against accusation.

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