Chapter 6. Compliance with the rule of law in the exercise of justice The right to have a pre-trial investigation conducted within a reasonable timeframe One of the general principles of criminal proceedings enshrined in the Criminal Procedural Code (CPC) of Ukraine is that of reasonable time limit. This principle also applies to the right of a person to have reasonable time limits for pre-trial investigation observed. Taking into account the case law of the ECtHR, the term “reasonable time” should be understood as the shortest period for consideration and resolution of a criminal case, procedural action or procedural decision, that is sufficient to provide timely (without undue delay) judicial protection of violated rights, freedoms and interests, achieving the goals and procedural actions and objectives of criminal proceedings. Violations of a person’s right to reasonable time limits for pre-trial investigation are evidenced not only by the number of appeals received by the Commissioner in this regard, but also by the number of cases confirmed during inspections by prosecutors’ offices. Analysis of information received from 226 appeals shows that often investigators do not perform procedural actions within a reasonable timeframe to fully and objectively establish the circumstances of the criminal offence, and delay consideration of petitions from participants in criminal proceedings, leading to further loss of evidence. Unfortunately, in 2019 the practice of closing criminal proceedings without conducting proper pre-trial investigation, failure to notify persons specified by law of the results of the pre-trial investigation, and failure to send applicants copies of decisions to close the proceedings, continued. Inspections carried out by prosecutors’ offices following requests made to them resulted in the revoking of six decisions to close criminal proceedings, while two applicants were provided with copies of decisions to close proceedings, enabling them to exercise the right to appeal these decisions, and two investigators were disciplined. Example In his appeal to the Commissioner, citizen K., among other things, alleged the possible illegal closure of criminal proceedings. The Commissioner initiated an investigation by the Poltava Oblast Prosecutor’s Office into the facts laid down in K.’s appeal. Following the investigation, on 11 October 2019 the procedural manager revoked the decision to close the criminal proceedings made by the investigator of the investigative unit of Hadiach police unit of Main Department of the National Police in Poltava oblast as of 20 September 2019. The investigator was suspended from the pre-trial investigation in the proceedings, and the pretrial investigation was entrusted to another investigator. CHAPTER 6 improve the efficiency of the investigation and ensure that it was completed as soon as possible. In 125 addition, the investigator was given written instructions on how to conduct the necessary investigative and procedural actions.