On the Differences in Approaches to Defining Criteria for Assessing the Effectiveness of Criminal Proceedings

Carrying out any activity, a person has always sought to achieve results with the least expenditure of resources. Based on these criteria, the effectiveness of the activity is most often assessed. However, the implementation of any activity is significantly influenced by other factors, both external and internal. In this regard, a quantitative assessment may not always indicate quality. Criminal procedural activity is a system of actions of all participants in the criminal process regulated by law within their competence and powers. In the context of the conducted study, special attention should be paid to the activities of authorities in the criminal process, on whose decisions the direction and course of proceedings in a criminal case depend. In most cases, their activities will be considered effective if a certain result has been achieved (the person who committed the crime has been identified; a sentence has been passed on the case, etc.). However, focus on the result does not allow an objective approach to assessing the effectiveness of the criminal process, since the absence of a result with the application of maximum efforts to achieve it can also be considered a positive outcome of criminal procedural activity. It is obvious that the assessment of the effectiveness of criminal proceedings should be based on criteria that take into account a wide range of factors and circumstances. Thus, the purpose of the study is to develop criteria that can be used in assessing the effectiveness of criminal proceedings. Consideration and analysis of various approaches to defining the concept of "effectiveness" allowed us to conclude that a simplified understanding of it can lead to an erroneous opinion regarding the factors influencing it. Therefore, an approach was formulated according to which it is necessary to take a comprehensive approach to assessing the effectiveness of criminal proceedings, taking into account not only the result of the activity, but also other factors influencing it (abuse of rights, complexity of the criminal case, errors made, etc.).