Between the investigation and the court: actions and decisions of the prosecutor at the end of the investigation as the final stage of pre-trial proceedings

The paper studies the essence and significance of the criminal-procedural activity of a prosecutor on completion of a preliminary investigation as a specific stage of pre-trial proceedings in a criminal case, which differs from the preliminary investigation in its parties, implemented tasks, specific forms of activity and legal relations, and final procedural decisions. The author analyzes the process of transformation of the indictment (charging document, accusatory decision) from a document completing the preliminary investigation and summing up its results into a document setting the limits, that is, the subject and scope of the upcoming trial. The paper considers the criminal-procedural significance of an act of approving the indictment (act, resolution) by the prosecutor. As a result of the study, the author formulates and substantiates conclusions on the end of pre-trial proceedings, as an independent, third in pre-trial proceedings, stage of the criminal process, which has its own boundaries (beginning and completion), specific goals and objectives, a responsible actor, and a special final procedural decision of multi-aspect significance. The prosecutor’s approval of an indictment (act, resolution) means: a) the prosecutor’s agreement with the preliminary investigation results; b) the end of pre-trial proceedings; c) the criminal case transition to the next stage – the judicial stage of the criminal procedure; d) the transfer of the burden of proof from a subject (body) of the preliminary investigation to the prosecutor heading the prosecutorial jurisdiction; e) the emergence of a state prosecution as a criminal-legal claim of the state against an accused. The paper contains the proposals, which determine the prospects for further improvement of the criminal-procedural law and increasing the efficiency of criminal-procedural activities by more clearly delineating responsibility for the results achieved between the preliminary investigation bodies and the prosecutor.