Serving a notice of suspicion of a criminal offense

One of the components of the investigation of a criminal offense is reporting suspicion. Suspicion is an assumption by a prosecutor or investigator regarding the involvement of a person in the commission of a criminal offense. Such assumptions must be based on full/partial justification. These assumptions are drawn up in the form of a report of suspicion. In the course of criminal proceedings, it must be confirmed or refuted. In this article, we will consider in detail the procedure for serving a report of suspicion in the commission of a criminal offense.

Serving a notice of suspicion: features of investigative actions

One of the important procedural actions within the framework of criminal proceedings is informing about the commission of an illegal activity. It is based on the preparation of a corresponding written notice by the prosecutor or investigator. After the document is drawn up, it is handed over to the suspect. This procedure is regulated by Articles 276-279 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the CPC).

Thus, informing a person about the commission of a criminal offense involves the following stages:

1. Drawing up a notice of suspicion.
2. Handing over the document to the suspect with an explanation of the essence of his rights (Article 42 of the CPC).

The specified notice is the first official reasonable assumption, a preliminary conclusion about the involvement of a person in the commission of a specific criminal offense. Handing over this document to the person begins the procedure for bringing him to criminal liability. Most importantly, a procedural figure appears, that is, a suspect with procedural rights and obligations (Article 42 of the CPC).

After the suspicion is served, the investigator's powers to use measures to ensure the investigation of a criminal case are significantly expanded. From this moment, the pre-trial investigation stage begins. After the person has been served with the suspicion, the participants in the criminal proceedings may plead guilty or enter into a settlement agreement.

The Criminal Procedure Code contains a list of possible methods of serving a notice of suspicion. For example, if it cannot be served in person, another method provided for summoning a person is chosen:

• Sending by e-mail or using postal services.
• Making a summons by telegram or telephone.
• Serving against receipt to an adult family member or management at the person's place of work.

Information about the suspicion must be served on the person on the day the document was drawn up by the investigator or prosecutor on the basis of a summons or pretext.

What is the liability for ignoring a report of suspicion?

If a suspect, without serious grounds, evades reporting to law enforcement officers, the investigating judge may prepare a ruling on the application of a temporary preventive measure, namely detention (part two of Article 176 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The justification for such actions is obstruction of criminal proceedings. After the detention, the person is taken to the place of official investigation and handed a report of suspicion.

In some cases, the content of a previously reported suspicion may be changed. For example, a person has been issued a new suspicion that is not related to the previously reported one. The previous suspicion may be supplemented with new episodes of a criminal offense (such actions must be qualified under a similar article).

The following factors may also affect changes in the document:

1. Clarification of the actual content (place, time, consequences).
2. Change in the legal qualification of illegal actions.
3. Exclusion of episodes of illegal activity that were not confirmed during the investigation.

We propose to proceed to the consideration of an equally important issue - what to do after the delivery of a notice of suspicion. Without a doubt, this is an important aspect of any criminal proceedings. It is from the first reaction of the person to the delivery of the notice that the course of events of the criminal case will largely depend.

An assumption of the commission of illegal activity may be provided in the following cases:

1. Detention of a person at the scene of the criminal offense or after some time.
2. Election of one of the preventive measures provided for by the current Code of Criminal Procedure to a person.
3. The presence of a sufficient evidentiary base regarding the commission of a criminal offense by a person.

If you have received a report of suspicion, the first thing you need to do is enlist the support of professional lawyers. The specialists of our law firm "Prykhodko and Partners" provide comprehensive legal assistance. We have thorough theoretical and practical training for high-quality protection of the rights of each client!

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