The expert’s petition in the mechanism for ensuring his security: procedural aspect

A person’s petition to ensure his or her safety during the criminal proceedings is the primary means of initiating the public law mechanism of procedural protection. The analysis of criminal procedure legislation suggests that not all parties to criminal proceedings have a de facto right to make such a petition. For example, obstacles to applying protective measures against an expert under the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation are often related to the specific procedural status of the expert and the procedural rules for the conduct of certain investigative actions involving him. Purpose: to assess the effectiveness of the public law mechanism for ensuring the expert’s security, the availability of procedural protective measures for this participant in the criminal procedure. Methods: system analysis and synthesis, as well as specific scientific methods are used. The study concludes that the criminal procedure mechanism for ensuring the expert’s security is declarative and that the expert’s procedural interaction with the authorities is useless in providing protection. Some amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation are proposed, including the expert’s right to file a petition to ensure his safety and to refuse to participate in criminal proceedings if it is not possible to ensure his protection by other measures.