Principle of discretionary public prosecution

The article deals with the principle of discretionary prosecution and its significance for the activities of the prosecutor in criminal proceedings.The purpose of the article is to define discretion as a principle of criminal prosecution and to determine its influence on the activities of the prosecutor in criminal proceedings.It is justified that prosecutorial discretion is based on the internal conviction of the prosecutor, which serves as an impulse for him to carry out indictment or abandon it. Therefore, the prosecutor’s prosecution, including its violations, continuation or termination, cannot be considered separately or contrary to his conviction of the necessity and appropriateness of this activity.It is argued that discretion is one of the components of the basis of publicity, following from the general right of the prosecutor to administer public criminal proceedings. This principle lies at the boundary of the realization of the principles of publicity and dispositivity, causing their interconnection and complementarity.Increasing the discretion of the prosecutor to prosecute is seen as a means of providing the prosecutor with greater flexibility and variability in criminal proceedings, with increased personal responsibility for its results.It was concluded that the principle of discretionary prosecution meant that the prosecutor would have some discretion in prosecuting on the basis of his discretion and within the limits prescribed by law in order to improve the efficiency of criminal proceedings.It can be considered in a broad sense – about the powers of the prosecutor in criminal proceedings as a whole, and in a narrow one – by order of the prosecution as a criminal lawsuit. Accordingly, the principle of discretion should extend to the prosecutor’s main decisions on criminal proceedings.