Procedural features of verifying reports of iatrogenic crimes

The subject of the research is the procedural features of verifying reports of iatrogenic crimes at the stage of initiating a criminal case. The object of the research is the complex of criminal procedural relations that arise during the verification of reports of crimes related to improper medical assistance. The author examines in detail aspects such as the relationship between requests, inspections of the crime scene, and the seizure of medical documents, as well as the regime of medical secrecy. Special attention is given to the collision between the provisions of Article 144 of the Russian Criminal Procedure Code, which permits the request for documents, and Article 13 of Federal Law No. 323-FZ, which allows the disclosure of medical secrecy only "in connection with the investigation," which, by its literal meaning, excludes the stage of initiating a case. The expansive interpretation by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, which legalized the request for medical secrecy within the framework of verifying a report of a crime, is analyzed. The methodology of the study was based on a combination of dialectical, logical, systemic, and formal-legal methods. Their application allowed for a comprehensive study of the procedural mechanisms for obtaining medical documentation and identifying legal uncertainties in the process of seizure before initiating a criminal case. The main conclusions of the conducted research are: 1) the request for medical documents, despite the position of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, cannot be considered a universal means of verification due to the risk of their falsification and incomplete representation; 2) the seizure of medical documentation before the initiation of a criminal case is permissible only when there is evidence of the risk of loss or concealment of documents; 3) the inspection of the crime scene should not substitute for seizure. A special contribution of the author to the research on this topic is the justification of the criteria for the admissibility of seizure at the verification stage: the connection of documents with the event being verified and the compliance with special guarantees, including judicial control. The novelty of the research lies in proposing a balance between the public interest in timely verification and the private interest of the patient in preserving medical secrecy. The author concludes that arbitrary seizure of documents is impermissible, just as is the refusal to obtain significant information by force.