SUB-BRANCHES OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW: PROBLEM STATEMENT

Abstract

The increasing complexity of the system of criminal procedure relations, which influences the emergence of legal entities in demand within legal regulation, necessitates research of the systemic and structural organization of modern criminal procedure law. The focus on researching the institutional aspects of legal entities is productive for the development of the general theory of the structure of criminal procedure law; however, it leaves such a structural element as a sub-branch on the periphery of scientific interests. In the theory of state and law, a sub-branch is generally defined as an optional element, which is why specialists in specific branches of law do not show due interest in its study. Against the backdrop of the differentiation of branches of law, a sub-branch of law is capable of eliminating or smoothing out existing contradictions in terms of defining the legal status of a particular regulatory entity, catalyzing the development of the legal system, and serving as a platform for supporting new branches. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the necessity to develop a sub-branch level of organization for criminal procedure materials, based on a structural analysis of criminal procedure law, with the aim of developing and enriching the Russian legal system and legislative framework. The foundation of this research is a systemic approach to understanding law and the method of structural analysis of its constituent elements. General scientific methods (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, logical reasoning) and specific scientific methods (formal-legal, comparative-legal) for comprehending legal phenomena are also employed. Results: criminal procedure law, as a branch of the national legal system, has achieved the necessary substantive integrity for the sub-branch organization of normative material. Large and developed bodies of legal norms can claim a transition from the status of complex legal institutions to sub-branches of criminal procedure law. There are necessary prerequisites for this. The trajectory of development of the doctrine of criminal procedure law should go in this direction, contributing to the enrichment of the general doctrine of the system and structure of law.