employee
Russian Federation
UDC 343.139
The article deals with the analysis of the principle of openness / transparency of legal proceedings in the criminal proceedings in Russia and the problems related to conducting closed trials. The author of the article notes that despite the constitutional status of openness / transparency (Article 123 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation) in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (Article 241) this principle is re-duced up to the level of a "general condition", which forms conceptual uncertainty and contributes to expansive interpretation of the exceptions provided for by the legislator. Key issues include insufficient justification of court decisions to close trials, the lack of clear criteria for "sufficiency of evidence" for such decisions as well as the risks of violating the adversarial principle due to limited access of defending party to information. The author of the article pays attention to the absence of mandatory audio recording of closed trials, which calls into question the legality of the court's activities and complicates appeals. The study emphasizes the necessity for reforms to maintain a balance between the openness / transparency of court proceedings and the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of its participants. The author offers his point of view to improve the relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.
criminal proceedings, restrictions on trial to be open / transparent, closed trial
1. Potapenko S. V. Publicity as a general condition of trial and as a constitutional principle in the criminal proceedings. Theory and practice of social development; 2022: 103—107. (In Russ.).
2. Kolosovich M. S. Procedural means of ensuring publicity and secrecy in the criminal proceedings: conceptual foundations. Dissertation of doctor of juridical sciences. Volgograd; 2019: 536. (In Russ.).
3. Gribunov O. P., Gaponova V. N., Nikiforova Ye. V. Implementation of the principle of publicity in modern criminal proceedings. Journal of the Tula State University. Economic and legal sci-ences, 14—21, 2021. (In Russ.).
4. Dmitriyeva A. A. Limiting the publicity of criminal proceedings as a condition for the safety of participants in criminal proceedings. Journal of the Udmurt University. Series "Economics and Law", 97—101, 2016. (In Russ.).
5. Ramazanov R. M. Closed trial as an independent security measure for participants in criminal proceedings. Journal of the Udmurt University. Series "Economics and Law", 286—290, 2021. (In Russ.).
6. Kolosovich M. S. Procedural means of en-suring publicity and secrecy in the criminal pro-ceedings. Monograph. Volgograd: the Volgograd Academy of the Ministry of the Interior of Russia; 2018: 579. (In Russ.).
7. Aliyev R. T. Closed trial and restrictions on the procedural rights of persons participating in the civil process. Law and Management, 148—152, 2023. (In Russ.).
8. Kurochkina Yu. S. Comparative analysis of the judicial investigation in Russia and Germany. Journal of the Udmurt University. Series "Eco-nomics and Law" 115—117, 2017. (In Russ.).
