THE PROCEDURAL STATUS OF THE PRIMARY PARTICIPANTS IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

The article deals with the problem of the lack of regulation of the procedural status of the primary participants in criminal proceedings. In particular, the legislator does not pay due attention to the procedural position of the suspect and the applicant. Meanwhile, these persons actively participate in procedural actions at the stage of initiating a criminal case, and their procedural position can affect the implementation of rights and duties of the subsequent participants – the suspect and the victim. The author explains the need for new participants to appear in the criminal procedure law for two reasons. The first is the significant differences between the substantive and procedural statuses of the victim. The second is the need for a parallel change in the procedural status of the suspect and the applicant in the course of criminal proceedings. The author pays special attention to the regulation of the procedural statuses of the victim, the sufferer and the applicant in various international documents. The main focus is on what procedural role the applicant will play and what procedural rights and obligations he will be endowed with. Attention is paid to the problem of the lack of detailed regulation of the procedural status of the private prosecutor, who, in a number of cases, is unreasonably equated with the victim and the public prosecutor. The author comes to the conclusion that the system of participants in criminal proceedings should be expanded by the inclusion of the primary participants in criminal proceedings.