Appointment of court hearing as a legal institution, stage of criminal proceedings and court procedural activity

The article is devoted to legal regulation of the first judicial stage - the appointment of court hearing. The relevance of the study of this stage of the procedure is due to the fact that, since the judicial reform of 1864, it has been constantly in the focus of attention of legislators, scientists and law-enforcers, because it could not find the optimal form, content and even the name because of the ambiguous attitude to its essence and objectives. The historical analysis of regulation of the above stage, which under the Statute of Criminal Procedure of 1864 was called "bringing to trial ", shows the continuity in national legal regulation of judicial activity at the decision-making stage on further progress of the criminal case that has come to court. Despite the differences in the procedure for making such a decision in different historical periods, the essence of the proceedings after the case is brought to court remains unchanged. First, to decide whether to set up a trial and to prosecute the accused is the prerogative of the court, not the prosecution authority. Secondly, the essence, significance and objectives of the present stage are conditioned by the intermediate place in the criminal justice system, which gives this stage the features of a kind of "filter" to identify and eliminate violations during the preliminary investigations, and of all sorts of impediments that prevent the appointment of a trial to consider a criminal case on the merits. Thirdly, the transitional phase from pre-trial to judicial proceedings forms an independent stage of criminal proceedings, which is characterized by its specific tasks, order, a number of subjects involved at this stage and defending their legitimate interests, court decisions. Fourthly, the legal regulation of judicial activity at this stage is differential that is expressed in the fact that it is carried out in a simplified manner by a single judge, without a trial, and in a complicated, way of holding a preliminary hearing, involving the parties and listening to their views on the most contentious issues. A comparative legal study of the regulation of similar stages of criminal proceedings available in all foreign countries, regardless of their affiliation to different legal systems, confirms the necessity and importance of their existence in order to create the best conditions for resolving criminal cases on the merits. Thus, the stage of appointment of court hearing has all characteristics inherent in any stage of criminal proceedings, so, despite the serious changes affecting its legal regulation, and the lack of a clear name in the Penal Code of the Russian Federation, it remains an independent stage of criminal proceedings and ensures administration of criminal justice.

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