Annotation

A study of the statutory basis and law enforcement practice of criminal case proceedings as well as criminal intelligence and surveillance activities has given an opportunity to identify a set of problems, which negatively affect the protection of the rights of individuals involved in the spheres of legal relations under consideration. The lack of consistency in regulation of criminal intelligence and surveillance activities complicates the development of the unified position of courts as to the assessment of criminal intelligence and surveillance files of a criminal case and results in broad discretion of law enforcement officers (the Federal Law on Criminal Intelligence and Surveillance Activities just lists criminal intelligence and surveillance activities, gives no definitions or characteristics thereof that could clearly demarcate and structure the performance thereof, document the results in such a way as to allow their assessment from the standpoint of legality of collection and compliance with the requirements for evidence in the criminal procedure.) Increased attention is paid to the need to specify in the Federal Law on Criminal Intelligence and Surveillance Activities the issue of financing of criminal intelligence and surveillance activities, determination of the possibility of and the procedure for using in criminal intelligence and surveillance activities of personal funds of certain people assisting the authorities in charge of criminal intelligence and surveillance activities and field employees, so that, in accordance with the requirements of Art. 87 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, this matter could be reviewed by the parties to the criminal procedure as to its legality, since funds used in criminal intelligence and surveillance activities are enclosed in criminal case files as evidence. These problems are reviewed from the standpoint of how they might be solved and are aimed at raising the guarantees of rights of persons who are the subject of criminal intelligence and surveillance activities or are being criminally prosecuted.