LEGAL REGULATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF REASONABLENESS IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS UNDER MARTIAL LAW

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the legal regulation of the principle of reasonableness in criminal proceedings under martial law. During the formulation of the problem, it is noted that practical employees in the field of criminal procedure during martial law continue to formally apply the current criminal procedural norms without taking into account their functional purpose. This leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of criminal proceedings during the period of martial law and to the disregard of important procedural guarantees of human rights and freedoms. It is argued that consideration of the issue of legal regulation of the principle of reasonableness in criminal proceedings under martial law is relevant. In the course of determining the state of development of the relevant issues, it is indicated that proceduralists in their writings paid attention only to certain issues of the principle of reasonableness, in particular, by researching specific standards of proof in criminal proceedings. Scholars did not consider “reasonableness” as a separate basis of criminal proceedings during martial law. During the presentation of the main material, it is noted that the principle of «reasonableness» is not directly regulated either for criminal proceedings in peacetime or for criminal proceedings during martial law. It is noted that this approach of the legislator is quite natural, since «reasonableness» is a general legal principle, which is an axiomatic idea in the field of jurisprudence, and therefore, as a general rule, does not require separate branch regulation. It is emphasized that in a situation of martial law, when the corresponding criminal procedural prescriptions remain imperfect and unstable, the basis of reasonableness (common sense) is more relevant than ever for criminal proceedings. Attention is drawn to the fact that the legal regime of martial law does not release the state bodies of Ukraine from the obligation to carry out an effective investigation and conduct a fair trial of the circumstances of the committed criminal offense. It is concluded that the content of the provisions of the criminal procedural law and the practice of their implementation determine the need to normalize the principle of reasonableness. It is expedient to regulate the principle of reasonableness both as a general principle of criminal proceedings and as a special principle of criminal proceedings under martial law. It is noted that the special principle of reasonableness of criminal proceedings during martial law should be regulated with reference to the use of common sense and the specific situation of hostilities.