Complaint against the actions of the investigator

Appealing the actions of an investigator during criminal proceedings is an important and integral part of the work of a lawyer in a criminal case. As a rule, the actions of the investigator, which in one way or another affect the rights and freedoms of citizens, are implemented and formalized through the relevant decisions of the investigator. If we are talking about complaints, statements, petitions of participants in criminal proceedings, both from the prosecution and from the defense, then any response to the petition of one or another participant is formalized by the corresponding resolution of the investigator to satisfy, for example, the petition, or to refuse it .

It is not always the case that, especially if we are talking about the defense side, requests and statements of a participant in the proceedings are enthusiastically met by the investigator. Each of them, as a rule, has his own ideas about the procedure for investigating a criminal case, the procedure for establishing all the circumstances of what happened and observing the rights and freedoms of man and citizen. However, despite the fact that one of the main tasks of criminal proceedings is the protection of the individual from illegal and unjustified restrictions on his rights and freedoms (Article 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation), even actions of the defense that are completely based on the law are sometimes met with unmotivated, fierce opposition from investigators. A timely filing of a complaint against the investigator, or more precisely against his actions and (or) decisions, helps to reason with the investigator who is freely and unilaterally interpreting the provisions of the law in his favor, and to return him to the mainstream of respecting the rights and freedoms of the accused in a criminal case.

An example is a case that occurred during the investigation of a criminal case under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which was being processed in one of the district divisions of the internal affairs bodies. During familiarization in accordance with Art. 206 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation with a number of examinations, including technically complex ones, such as examinations of the prescription of the document, examinations of the age of the paper on which the document was made, financial and economic examinations, etc., the defense attorney tried to photograph the expert opinions. Typically, these actions do not meet with misunderstanding on the part of the investigator. It is obvious to everyone that complex technical, financial and economic examinations are difficult to understand, let alone check. To understand and analyze their content, assess the quality of the research, and, consequently, the reliability of the expert’s conclusions, explanations from specialists in one or another field of knowledge, and sometimes more than one, are often required. That’s why lawyers photograph these expert opinions, so that later, with the participation of specialists, they can properly understand and analyze both the research itself and its conclusions. However, in this case, the defense attorney’s attempts to photograph documents began to be suppressed in the most decisive manner by the investigator, to the point of snatching expert opinions from the lawyer’s hands, covering the phone’s camera lens with his hands, etc.

The investigator justified his desperate actions by the absence in Article 206 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation of permission for photography, as well as any kind of copying of documents presented for review. The possibility of copying case materials presented to the defense for review, in the opinion of the investigator, related exclusively to the stage of familiarization with all materials of the criminal case in accordance with Article 217 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

Due to the lack of desire to participate in the scandal and physical altercations with the investigator, the defense decided to appeal the actions of the investigator. The lawyer submitted a written request to photograph all the examinations presented for review, which, naturally, was denied. The tactic of writing a petition to the investigator was chosen in order to save oneself from the need to prove the very fact of the investigator’s physical implementation of actions to impede the photographing process. The investigator's written decision was itself both a reason for appeal and evidence of illegal actions carried out by the investigator. The decision was received from the office of the district investigative department, and soon the defense prepared a corresponding complaint. It was decided to complain about the actions of the investigator and the decision he made to the district prosecutor's office in accordance with Article 124 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

The complaint against the investigator to the prosecutor's office set out in detail the arguments and arguments about the violation of the rights of the defense in a criminal case and the illegality of the actions of the investigator and the decision he made. Naturally, all the defense arguments set out in the complaint against the actions of the investigator were supported by references to the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the legal positions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, and the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

The defense's arguments set out in the complaint against the investigator to the prosecutor's office were found to be justified. As a result, the complaint against the investigator’s actions was fully satisfied by the prosecutor’s resolution, and a demand was made to the head of the district investigation department to cancel the investigator’s resolution preventing the defense attorney from photographing examinations in a criminal case.

Sample complaint against the investigator's decision:

Prosecutor's decision to satisfy the complaint against the investigator.

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Added 07/16/2019 | Litigation practice, Criminal cases

Submission methods

A completed complaint can be submitted in one of the following ways:

During personal appearance at the selected government agency. In this case, the application itself is submitted to the office of the authority, where it is then registered and sent for consideration to its authorized employee;
By post. Having chosen this method, you should send the application by registered mail with a list of attachments and notification of acceptance;
Online. Today, you can file a complaint online when contacting almost any government agency. To do this, you need to go to the official website of the selected authority, and then leave your appeal using the Internet reception.

Termination of criminal prosecution

First of all, it must be said that the termination of criminal prosecution and the termination of a case are completely different concepts.

A criminal case is initiated as a result of the actions of those subject to the Criminal Code.

So, criminal prosecution is unacceptable :

The person has no relation to negative events, the qualification of which implies the presence of a crime.
The citizen has already been punished for the act committed.
The person is subject to a decree to terminate the criminal case.
The person has inviolability.
The citizen has not reached the legal age required for criminal prosecution.
There is an act of amnesty that provides for the committed act.
In the presence of active repentance.

Among other things, there are other grounds for closing the case. Each specific case needs to be examined.

Expert commentary

Roslyakov Oleg Vladimirovich

Lawyer, specialization civil law. More than 19 years of experience.

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If the actions of employees of the Investigative Committee are aimed at ending the criminal prosecution without reason, then a complaint must be written to the prosecutor about the actions of the investigator. The sample can be downloaded from our website.

Central office of the Investigative Committee

You can contact the central office of the Investigative Committee in one of the following ways:

Make an appointment with the head of the main department of the Investigative Committee.
Submit a claim in person to the reception committee at the address: Moscow, st. 1st Frunzenskaya, 3a.
Send the application by a valuable letter with notification to the address for written requests from citizens: 105005, Moscow, Tekhnicheskiy Lane, 2.

There are also several telephone lines for citizens to contact:

8-800-100-12-60 – using this number you can report unlawful actions of employees of the Investigative Committee, including manifestations of corruption. Calls are free from anywhere in Russia, the line operates 24 hours a day.
8-800-100-12-70 – telephone number for contacting the Chairman. The direct line is open every first and third Wednesday of the month from 14.00 to 19.00.

You can contact the Investigative Committee using the Internet reception at https://sledcom.ru/#reception. When writing an appeal, you should take into account that appeals that contain:

obscene language;
text written in Latin or capital letters;
incomplete address of the applicant;
a statement without specifying specific complaints and suggestions.

If the heads of lower investigative bodies did not make a decision on citizens’ appeals, in accordance with Order of the Investigative Committee at the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation dated September 19, 2007 No. 17, the complaint is sent to the appropriate body within 7 days from the date of registration. The applicant must be notified of the redirection of the complaint.

Complaints submitted through the Internet reception are processed in accordance with the Federal Law “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation” dated 05/02/06.

In accordance with the Federal Law "On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation", supervision of investigative bodies is carried out by the prosecutor. This means that complaints against a representative of the investigative bodies can be filed with the prosecutor’s office, but only after there has been no response to the appeal from the head of the investigative agency at the place of residence. However, you can file a complaint with the prosecutor’s office and at the same time contact the head of the investigative department.

Compilation rules

The current legislation does not provide for strict requirements for the form and content of a complaint against an investigator. It is enough for the applicant to adhere to the general rules of office work:

Present information concisely.
Avoid using expressive language.
Pay sufficient attention to the substantiation of claims; only appeals with irrefutable evidence will be considered in favor of the applicant.
If the investigator made decisions that violate your rights, they should be attached to the application.
It will be necessary to indicate which legal norm should be applied to the official.

Legal advice! The rights and responsibilities of the investigator are enshrined in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, therefore, in the event of violations on the part of the executive, one must refer to this regulatory document.

The right of citizens to appeal the actions of the investigator is enshrined in Art. 123 Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.

How to file a complaint?

It is submitted either directly to the body authorized to consider it, or to the investigator, who then transfers it to the appropriate structure.

Practice shows that it is better to send materials directly to the head of the investigation, to the court or the prosecutor's office. Otherwise, their transfer will also be delayed. Papers must be given directly to the office or sent by mail.

Persons in custody submit documents through the administration. Examples of complaints submitted from pre-trial detention centers and places of detention show that not all government agencies violate the rights of citizens.

Submitting a complaint through electronic services makes sense if it is duplicated in paper form.

Terms and procedure for consideration

After the received application is registered, an authorized employee of the supervisory authority will subject it to a thorough analysis. According to the law, the standard period for considering a complaint should not exceed 3 days; in some cases, if there is a large list of additional materials, this period can last up to 5 days.

In exceptional cases, the period for consideration of the application may be delayed even further, but in this case the applicant will receive a corresponding notification.

The result of consideration of the application will be one of the following decisions:

Satisfaction of the complaint and requirements thereunder;
Refusal to satisfy the application and return of the application to the citizen who submitted it.

Meaning of the complaint

A complaint about the investigator's inaction is of serious importance. It lies in the ability to influence the investigation process, as well as to record violations committed by the investigator if there is still no proper response to the complaint. Thus, she will play a role in the future when the case comes to court.

Despite the abolition of the right to send the case for further investigation, before considering the materials on the merits, the judge has the right to make comments. They are transferred to the prosecutor's office, and from there to the investigator. This procedure is possible as part of a preliminary meeting. At this stage, the question of whether the case is ready for consideration is decided.

Violations ignored in the first instance may play a role at the stage of appeal, cassation or supervision.

Grounds for claims

The most common reasons for filing a complaint against an investigator include:

Refusal to initiate a criminal case.
Termination of criminal prosecution without valid reasons.
Violation of the rules for conducting investigative actions.
Insulting the honor and dignity of a citizen.
Violations of the order of detention of citizens.
Disclosure of investigation information.
Refusal to consider the application.
Distortion of facts or incorrect interpretation of events.

You can also complain about the investigator if he deliberately delays the investigation process.

Courts

Complaints are considered in the first instance by district courts. The application is reviewed by one of his employees. He calls the initiator of the complaint and his representative, most often they are lawyers. Prosecutors represent the state side.

Those who disagree with the judge's decision have the right to file an appeal, cassation and supervisory complaint.