THE "MYKOLAIV" CRIMINAL TRIAL: PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

Abstract

The article provides a historical and legal analysis of the Russian system of preliminary investigation in criminal cases, which operated during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, that is, before the well-known judicial reform of the 1860s. In particular, the article examines the legal foundations of preliminary investigation, which were included in the content of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. The reasons for the beginning of the preliminary investigation are revealed. The two-stage structure of the preliminary investigation is determined. The methods of work of police officials are analyzed: cognitive and certification techniques, means of coercive influence on the behavior of suspects (accused), other legal ways of ensuring rights and restricting rights. Various methods of collecting formal evidence are revealed, which were subject to further use to substantiate court sentences. In conclusion, the system of preliminary investigation that existed in Russia in the mid-19th century, despite its archaic and inquisitorial nature, is recognized as a solid foundation for the emergence and development of all subsequent forms of pre-trial proceedings, which were established by the Charter of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Empire of 1864, Soviet criminal procedure legislation and even established by the current Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.