Ensuring institutional balance in criminal proceedings in the context of the implementation of the Law of Ukraine № 4359-IX

The article presents a comprehensive legal analysis of the provisions of the Law of Ukraine № 4359- IX of April 16, 2025, “On Amendments to Article 196 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Improvement of the Procedure for Ensuring Security Measures for Persons Participating in Criminal Proceedings”, which introduces amendments to criminal procedural legislation in the field of ensuring the security of persons involved in criminal proceedings. The author focuses on problematic aspects of the implementation of this law from the perspective of maintaining institutional balance between the court, pre-trial investigation bodies, and pre-trial detention facilities. In particular, the article critically evaluates the deprivation of the National Police of Ukraine of the authority to hold in temporary holding facilities persons subjected to a preventive measure in the form of detention, as well as accused and convicted persons; the imposition on the investigating judge of the obligation to determine the specific pre-trial detention center (SIZO) in the ruling on the application of such a measure; and the introduction of fixed durations for security measures without considering the actual level of threat. The author substantiates that the implementation of the Law of Ukraine № 4359-IX of April 16, 2025, “On Amendments to Article 196 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Improvement of the Procedure for Ensuring Security Measures for Persons Participating in Criminal Proceedings”, in its proposed version will lead to inconsistencies within the current criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine, the inability to ensure timely conduct of relevant investigative (search) and covert investigative (search) actions, overloading of pre-trial detention centers, and the need for additional expenditures from the State Budget of Ukraine for the transportation of detained persons. The article proposes specific legislative amendments to the criminal procedural legislation of Ukraine that would ensure the effective functioning of existing mechanisms for providing security measures to persons participating in criminal proceedings.