INTRODUCTORY SPEECHES AS A PART OF THE PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINING THE VOLUME OF EVIDENCE SUBJECT TO RESEARCH AND THE ORDER OF THEIR RESEARCH

Abstract

In comparison with the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine of 1960 (hereinafter the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine of 1960), in the current Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (hereinafter the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine) the procedure for determining by the court the amount of evidence to be examined and the order of its examination has undergone significant changes. In particular, the Code provides for the right of the parties to criminal proceedings to make opening speeches, in which it is indicated with which evidence the party will confirm the circumstances cited by it, the procedure for examining the evidence, and the position of the party may also be indicated. Analyzing and supporting the position of scientists regarding the expediency of introducing the procedure of court speeches in criminal proceedings, the point of view is given that their implementation in practice has psychological and legal significance. From a legal point of view, this is manifested in the fact that: a) unlike the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine of 1960, the current code does not contain the obligation of the prosecutor to announce the entire indictment. The intention of the legislator is clear, aimed at speeding up the criminal process, reducing the possibility of the defense party to delay the proceedings. However, all information about the circumstances of a criminal offense is contained in the indictment, the only document of the pre-trial investigation that the court sees at the beginning of the trial. Therefore, the announcement by the prosecutor of his summary may not give the court a complete systematic view of the committed act, will not allow him to create a complete "picture" of what happened in his mind, to determine what circumstances of the criminal proceedings need to be established; b) the content of the court speeches allows the court to determine what the parties will use when defending their position and the volume of these materials, thus to determine the volume of evidence that will be examined and the order of their examination. In psychological terms, the role of speeches is that: a) a correctly constructed structure of an introductory speech and its skillful presentation of the audience will allow you to capture the attention of those present, raise the authority of the speaker, which will affect the effectiveness of others' perception of his subsequent speeches, remarks, etc.; b) the parties to the criminal proceedings in their speech may focus on the key points of the criminal proceedings, such as: the correctness of the qualification of the criminal offence, the significance of violations of the rights of the accused during the pre-trial investigation, the presence of concrete evidence by the parties to confirm their point of view regarding the act, etc. In turn, this can influence the judge's consciousness, "program" him for a more thorough analysis of the issue emphasized in the speeches. An opinion was expressed regarding the impracticality of expanding the circle of participants in court proceedings who have the right to make opening speeches.