Some questions of the prosecutor's activity in the enforcement of court decisions related to the application of forced measures of a medical nature

Abstract

The issues of the prosecutor's activities in the execution of court decisions related to the application of coercive measures of a medical nature are currently misunderstood by many researchers. For instance, such authors as P. Kolmakov, O. Mishchenko, D. Pogorelov, S. Sefikurbanov, L. Tatyanina, G. Teteryatnyk, S. Sharenko, R. Yurchenko, Derdyuk paid attention to special issues of protection of the rights and legitimate interests of the insane and limitedly sane persons in criminal proceedings.

The task of the author of the article is to focus on some problematic issues of the prosecutor's powers in the sphere of execution of court decisions, related to the application of coercive measures of medical nature and to provide proposals for their resolution.

As a result of the judicial reform of 2016, the Constitution of Ukraine has undergone significant modifications. In particular, according to Article 131^-1, the prosecutor's office no longer supervises the observance of the laws in the sphere of execution of court decisions in criminal cases, as well as in the application of other coercive measures, related to the restriction of personal liberty of citizens.

At the same time, paragraph 9 of Section XV “Transitional Provisions” of the Constitution of Ukraine states that the prosecutor's office continues to perform this function in accordance with current laws until a new law, launching the dual system of regular penitentiary inspections, enters into force.

Analysis of the practice of prosecutorial activities in the sphere of control of execution of court decisions in criminal cases, as well as in the application of other coercive measures related to restriction of personal liberty of citizens, indicates that prosecutors are experiencing some difficulties in this direction with the entry into force of laws of Ukraine «On Prosecutor's Office» from 2014 and «On Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine (Regarding Justice)» in 2016.

The author concludes, that one of the key priorities of the prosecutor’s office is compliance of their activities with international standards of treatment of insane and limitedly sane persons in criminal proceedings, in particular, with the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Code of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment in Any Form, and the Principles of Protection of Persons with mental Illness and the Improvement of Psychiatric Care, the Declaration of the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons, etc.