Introduction of the Figure of an Investigating Judge in Criminal Proceedings: Pros and Cons

The article discusses the problems associated with a possible change in the institution of judicial control in criminal pre-trial proceedings. A comparative legal study of foreign criminal procedure legislation was carried out, where over the past ten years there have been significant changes in the control function of the court by introducing a new participant in the criminal process the investigating judge. A review of the position of process scholars on the issue of introducing an investigative judge into the Russian criminal process is carried out, and both positive and negative aspects of the concept are evaluated. The author analyzes the positive and negative assessments of the developed concept of “Return of the institution of investigative judges in the Russian criminal process”. An intermediate conclusion is made that the appearance of an investigative judge in the domestic criminal process will entail significant changes in legal relations arising between subjects of pre-trial proceedings and will generally change the modern concept of judicial control.