The problem of defining and interpreting the concept of ‘secret protection’ in operative-investigative activities

Introduction. Operative-investigative activities are inherently linked to confidential information, which may contain official secrets and must be reliably protected from unauthorised disclosure. Law enforcement practice has developed effective methods of secret protection of operative-investigative subjects, comprising a combination of regulatory, procedural, and covert-conspiratorial behaviour of keepers and users of this secret. However, there is no consensus on the interpretation of the concept of ‘secret protection’ among scholars and practitioners. This fact naturally leads to varying approaches in its implementation. The author attempts to analyse contemporary views of scholars and practitioners on the concept of ‘secret protection’ within the framework of his own study of the covert operations paradigm in operative-investigative activities. Methods. The study employed comparative legal and content analysis of regulatory legal acts governing the protection of official secrets; general scientific dialectical and formal-logical methods in examining theoretical provisions defining the categorical and conceptual framework of the covert operations paradigm in operative-investigative activities and the foundations of practical secret protection. These methods helped identify issues in the legal regulation of official secret protection in the field of operativeinvestigative activities. Results. Based on the analysis of Russian legislation and numerous scientific studies, the author concludes that current Russian laws regulating the handling and protection of official secrets contain conflicting norms leading to ambiguous interpretation, thus requiring correction. The author presents well-reasoned perspectives on certain concepts used in the Official Secrets Act and methods of secret protection.