PARTICIPATION OF THE DEFENDER IN PRELIMINARY HEARINGS: SEVERAL ISSUES

Abstract

The article concerns the participation of the defender in the stage of preliminary court hearings, which is an innovation in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia.

In particular, the article discussed the importance of the preliminary hearing stage, the range of main issues to be discussed during the hearings, their subsections. In the course of the conducted research, the author came to the conclusion that the procedural stage of preliminary hearings provides new horizons for the activities of the defender, making it possible to exclude the further course of criminal proceedings in the presence of the necessary prerequisites as a result of the initial consideration of legal issues, as well as to execute a number of general-legal and criminal-procedural principles. The article also analyzed the fact that the preliminary hearing stage has a positive effect not only on the activities of the defender and the guarantee of the right to defense, but also makes it possible to hold a targeted discussion between the parties to the proceedings in conditions of more active participation of the court.

As a result of the analysis carried out within the framework of the article, the author came to the conclusion that the stage of preliminary hearings can be improved by providing for the implementation of such actions as, for example, determining the function of clarifying the indictment, which will allow the defense to ask questions about the indictment. As a result, it will be possible to ensure a smooth and lawful course of the main hearing stage in a more efficient manner.

The proposal aimed at improving the stage of preliminary hearings also consists in increasing the function of determining the subject of evidence in the list of issues to be discussed during preliminary hearings, which will ensure the principles of legal certainty and predictability.