Sokolov, T.V. Suspension of proceedings on a criminal case due to an address of its participants to a Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation

Abstract: The author analyzes the criminal procedural consequences of an address of the participants of the criminal judicial proceedings (court and defense parties) to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation with a request to confirm constitutionality of the law which has to be applied in the case and the complaints regarding violations of constitutional rights and freedoms by the provisions of law applied in a certain case accordingly. These consequences provide for the suspension of the process on a criminal case (material, viewed according to the criminal judicial procedure), however, the moment of suspension differs. When the court sends a request, any criminal proceedings are immediately suspended, and when a complaint is sent to the Constitutional court only the cassation and supervision are suspended when a complaint is accepted for the proceedings by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. The methodological basis for the study was formed by the doctrine of judicial law, which is a currently reviving general theory of judicial power and procedural law, allowing to have interdisciplinary studies in the sphere of justice. The author based upon the foreign experience of Austria and Andorra offers to optimize the criminal procedural form for the suspension of the proceedings on a case, regarding it as an obligatory matter in every case when a request is sent, but not absolute in respect to procedural acts. With such an approach after a request is sent to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the court still may implement some procedural acts not involving application of the norm of law, which is challenged in a request.

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