FUNCTIONS OF THE INVESTIGATOR AS A PARTICIPANT IN CRIMINAL PROCEDURAL LEGAL RELATIONS

This article examines a range of theoretical and practical issues related to determining the functional role of the investigator within the system of criminal procedural legal relations. The relevance of the topic is conditioned by the key role of the investigator at the pre-trial stages, where the foundations for all subsequent judicial proceedings are laid. The author emphasizes that it is through the analysis of functions that the internal organization and dynamics of legal relations involving the investigator are revealed. The evolution of scientific views on the concept of «function of the investigator» in the pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern periods is analyzed. Based on a philosophical understanding of activity and a systematic approach, the author formulates an original definition of the criminal procedural function of the investigator. Special attention is paid to a critical analysis of the legislative assignment to the investigator of exclusively the function of criminal prosecution (Art. 15 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the  Russian Federation), which does not correspond to the actual content of his activities. The article examines three main scientific concepts of the investigator’s functions: the adversarial, consolidated and differentiated. The historical development of these concepts is studied, their advantages and disadvantages are identified. Based on a systematic approach and analysis of goal-setting, the author proposes an original classification of the investigator’s functions. It is concluded that there is a need for further improvement of the theoretical model capable of adequately describing the multifaceted procedural activity of the investigator.