Legislative provisions and theoretical concepts regarding the essence of criminal prosecution: a historical aspect

The scientific article is devoted to the study of legislative provisions and theoretical concepts regarding the essence of criminal prosecution in a historical aspect. Legislative regulation and theoretical views on the implementation of criminal prosecution are considered in accordance with the following historical periods: the pre-Soviet period (… – 1917), the Soviet period (1917–1991), the post-Soviet period (1991–2012), the modern period (2012–2025), the next period (2025 – …). It is noted that in the pre-Soviet period, the concept of «criminal prosecution» was not used in regulatory acts. In fact, the concept of «criminal prosecution» during this historical period meant state prosecution activity regarding the event of a criminal offense. The Criminal Procedure Statute of 1864 provided for activity that was actually criminal prosecution, but called it judicial prosecution. It is argued that during the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, the meaning of the concept of «criminal prosecution» acquired a certain level of detail. It is studied that despite the fact that the criminal procedural legislation of the early stage of the Soviet period contained the concept of «criminal prosecution», the latter did not look clear, and meant the process of investigating crimes in general. It was determined that criminal prosecution can be an exclusively personified activity, and the prosecutor is considered as the central and sole figure of criminal prosecution. It is established that modern theoretical ideas about the subjects who carry out criminal prosecution differ, but in the majority, criminal prosecution is not identified exclusively with prosecutorial activities. In fact, criminal prosecution is also carried out by the investigator, inquirer, operational officers, and in cases provided for by the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, by the victim. It is noted that the next stage of development of criminal prosecution activities is associated with the normative consolidation of such a concept, the legislative definition of the circle of subjects of criminal prosecution, the definition of its boundaries, etc.