Mediation: a thorny path in the criminal procedure

Criminal legal procedure is not only the sphere of conflict of interests, but also the tool of reconciliationby means of mediation application for solving criminal conflicts. Mediation is a peaceful way of resolution of disputes with assistance ofthe third person directly participating in dispute. It is a social mature solution of the existing legal conflict. Conscious introduction ofmediation in modern practice allows not only eliminating harmful consequences of executed acts, but also preventing their repetition.However, mediation can have different variations; and it demands search of the answer to the following questions. 1. Will mediation bea kind of addition to the traditional criminal procedure or as an alternative to it? As a consequence, how to settle this procedure legislatively:by including of a separate chapter in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation or by passing a separate federal law.Refuse to give mediation the criminal procedure character is optimal and proved at present. 2. Which are the categories of criminal caseswhere application of mediation will be possible? Moreover - when will it be possible? Now, in the theory of criminal procedure thereare no criteria of allocating cases for mediation: it is a type of a crime, its justifiable character, a special order of criminal procedure.According to our opinion, mediation can be quite applicable for cases on crimes against the property.3. How does the institute of mediationcorrespond with the principles of criminal legal procedure? We insist that mediation in the Russian Federation does not alwayscorrespond to the principles of the criminal procedure. Moreover, mediation should not be regulated by norms of the Criminal ProcedureCode. 4. Who has a right to mediation? Certainly, this question is a logic continuation of the first question, which is the basic questionon nature of mediation. So if mediation cannot be regulated by norms of the criminal procedure laws, the right to carry out reconciliatorymeetings cannot be given to the inspector, the investigator, the public prosecutor or court. 5. One of the most important questions inthe criminal procedure is the question of a secret. In the sphere of mediation it is important to decide on the way, volume, and form ofthe information about investigation that can be given to a mediator. The parties of mediation can give private information to a mediator.Therefore, the mediator should be given witness immunity.

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