If the driver violated traffic rules and the inspector noticed this, a protocol is drawn up on the spot and administrative proceedings are initiated. Based on the results, the perpetrator is brought to justice. According to Art. 15.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, each participant in the proceedings is given the right to familiarize himself with the case materials. In addition, in some cases it is mandatory.
In the article we will consider how and who can get acquainted with documents on an administrative case, where to go, what is needed for this and how to solve possible problems that many citizens have to face.
Why is it important to familiarize yourself with the case materials?
Case materials are documents drawn up during the administrative investigation by traffic police officers. If the violation is serious and there is a question of arrest or deprivation of a driver’s license, they are taken to court.
Before being submitted to the court, participants in the proceedings may request to review the materials. This is important, especially if any of them believes that their rights have been violated by inspectors.
Another important point is studying the protocol. It is issued at the place where the driver was stopped. Subsequently it is given to him against signature. If he does not agree with the contents of the protocol, a corresponding mark is made on it. There is no point in refusing to sign: the refusal will be recorded by the inspector in the presence of two witnesses. It is better to indicate your disagreement and then appeal it.
After registration, the protocol is attached to the rest of the materials. After this, they will be used in court during administrative proceedings. If a court decision is not required by law to bring the person to justice, the corresponding resolution is drawn up in the traffic police.
There are several reasons why it is extremely important to study the case materials:
- The chance of successfully defending your rights in court increases. If a lawyer defends the interests of a citizen, he must study official documents and not be guided by the client’s arguments and testimony. You need to act based on the actual circumstances. If a lawyer promises a 100% win, there is a chance that he is unscrupulous: before studying the materials, not a single good human rights activist will give such a guarantee.
- The risk of losing your driver's license is reduced. Traffic police inspectors often make mistakes, including when interpreting traffic rules or the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, incorrectly classifying offenses. The car owner or lawyer will notice this after studying the materials, and if necessary, appeal everything.
If a person (another driver, a pedestrian) was injured in an accident, he, as a participant, also legally has access to the materials. Having studied them, he will be able to defend his rights independently or with the help of a lawyer and achieve a fair punishment for the perpetrator. This is especially true if there is a possibility that the person is trying to avoid responsibility.
How to apply
There are several options for submitting an application:
- through the court office;
- via postal service;
- by email or by filling out an application form on the official website of the court (if such a communication channel is provided by the court for filing procedural documents).
The procedure and deadlines for issuing cases in a court of general jurisdiction for review are established by the chairman of the court (clause 14.1 of the Instruction dated April 29, 2003 No. 36; clause 16.1 of the Instruction dated December 15, 2004 No. 161, clause 13.1 of the Instruction dated October 1, 2019 No. 225 ).
The familiarization schedule is brought to the attention of court visitors by posting it on information stands and on the official websites of the courts.
If the case is in the archive, then familiarization is regulated by the Instruction on the procedure for organizing the acquisition, storage, recording and use of documents (electronic documents) in the archives of federal courts of general jurisdiction, approved by Order of the Judicial Department under the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated March 19, 2019 No. 56.
What documents must be provided to the production party?
According to current legislation, the materials include the following documents:
- protocol (drawn up by the inspector at the place where the guilty driver was stopped);
- an explanatory note from a citizen who committed an offense (usually drawn up by the traffic police department);
- expert opinions (if a medical, technical or other examination was carried out);
- written testimony of witnesses and victims;
- petitions of participants in proceedings in court.
It may also include other documents and materials used in the administrative investigation. For example, video and audio recordings.
If the materials have not yet been submitted to the court, you can familiarize yourself with them at the traffic police department where the administrative proceedings are being conducted. In other cases, they can be requested in court by filing an appropriate petition.
What the law says
Familiarization with the case materials is available to participants in the process. This is stated in Art. 35 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. They also have the right to make extracts from documents and make copies.
The procedure for familiarization is prescribed in the following instructions for court records:
- Instructions for judicial records management in a district court, approved by Order of the Judicial Department under the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated April 29, 2003 No. 36
- Instructions for judicial records management in the supreme courts of republics, regional and regional courts, courts of federal cities, courts of the autonomous region and autonomous districts, approved by Order of the Judicial Department under the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated December 15, 2004 No. 161
- Instructions for judicial record keeping in courts of appeal of general jurisdiction, approved by Order of the Judicial Department under the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated October 1, 2019 No. 225.
Who can get acquainted with the case materials?
Participants in the proceedings or their representatives may submit an application or petition for the issuance of copies of documents:
- The guilty person against whom proceedings have been initiated;
- Injured party;
- Legal representatives of the perpetrators or victims;
- Representatives of a legal entity, if an organization is involved in the case.
If a full-fledged investigation requires the participation of specialists or experts, the materials are transferred to them for review. It is important that they are disinterested individuals and have the knowledge necessary to assist.
Authorized representatives
A participant in the process may entrust familiarization to his authorized representative.
In Art. 49 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation lists the requirements for persons who can be representatives.
The main requirements are legal capacity and the presence of a power of attorney from the participant in the process.
Please note , according to Part 2 of Art. 49 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, representatives, with the exception of cases considered by magistrates and district courts, may be lawyers and other persons providing legal assistance who have a higher legal education or an academic degree in a legal specialty. Accordingly, except for the specified cases, the representative must confirm the existence of a legal education. Otherwise, familiarization may be refused.
How to familiarize yourself with the materials of an administrative case: step-by-step instructions
To obtain copies of the materials before going to court, you need to contact the traffic police department involved in the administrative investigation. The documents are drawn up by the investigator or interrogating officer of the department, but you can also request them from the chief.
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What the procedure looks like step by step:
- The production participant comes to the inspection with a passport and draws up an application for the provision of materials on the spot.
- On the day of application, the citizen is provided with all data.
During the visit, it is recommended to copy all documents onto a flash drive, as well as photograph evidence and other materials on your phone. But it is best to film video - it is more informative, but inspectors may refuse this, citing a ban on filming in law enforcement departments. This is not true: no legislation prohibits filming in open spaces to which all citizens have access.
Respect for the rights of participants in a procedural audit
At the stage of checking a crime report, there are still no victims, witnesses, or accused. To Popov L.M. to recognize a victim, it is necessary to make a decision recognizing her as such, which is possible only after the initiation of a case. Before this, she is called the applicant.
As for witnesses, they are conventionally called such, but in the full sense of this term they will become, again, only during the investigation within the framework of a criminal case.
The same applies to the suspect - until he is detained at the crime scene and a case is not initiated, he is considered a participant in the pre-investigation check, nothing more.
At the same time, despite the lack of a clear and “official” status in the case, all of the listed persons have a number of rights. And if these rights are not respected, the consequences may lead to the exclusion of the collected evidence by the court.
The main rights of these persons are:
- the right not to testify against oneself and to refuse to give explanations in accordance with Art. 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation;
- the right not to testify against one’s loved ones, which includes spouses, children, parents;
- the right to use the assistance of a lawyer - in any verification event, be it a survey or participation in a study, examination, etc. The lawyer also has his own rights - to be present during the questioning, during the inspection, and to get acquainted with the inspection materials.
- bring complaints about the actions and inactions of the investigator, interrogating officer;
- ask for security measures to be applied (for example, to keep your full name or information about giving an explanation and generally about contacting the police secret).
- the right to a reasonable time for verification of the message. The law requires strict adherence to the deadlines for conducting pre-investigation checks. It is unacceptable to set aside the statement of L.M. Popova. and check only the message of citizen V.M. Petrov. The applicant has the right to immediate measures to verify his information about the crime, and in some cases, delays can be dangerous for people’s lives.
As a general rule, a message must be verified within 3 days . The legislator has provided for the possibility of extending this period to 10 days . Let us note that most often the period is extended, since three days are often not enough for local commissioners and investigators. In exceptional cases, it is possible to extend the period to 30 days. Typically, an extension of up to a month occurs for reports of economic crimes or other violations of the law, the collection of evidence for which is difficult (for example, exhumation of a corpse followed by a complex examination is required).
The procedure for extending the period involves the mandatory consent to increase the period by the head of the inquiry or investigation body. The extension of the investigator's term to 30 days is approved by the prosecutor .
According to the results of the inspection, on the basis of Art. 145 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, one of two decisions is made: to refuse to initiate a criminal case or to initiate a criminal case.
Possible problems
In addition to the ban on filming, there are a number of other problems that citizens have to face:
- They refuse to provide materials. For the culprit, this may mean that they are trying to bring him to justice illegally; for the victim, on the contrary, a mitigation of responsibility for the culprit.
- Not all documents are provided. Most often this happens if the inspectors did not have time to formalize everything, or made a mistake somewhere.
- The materials contain incorrect information about the parties to the proceedings and the circumstances of the accident. There are different options here: both an attempt to make an innocent person guilty, and elementary illiteracy of employees.
Let's consider each situation and the way out of it in detail.
Case materials are not provided
If the participant is not given documents for review, this violates the provisions of Art. 25.1 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. You need to request a written refusal, and then appeal it through a senior traffic police officer or in court.
Materials are provided, but not completely
It is important to consider that the file must be bound and numbered so that documents cannot be taken from there at any time. If a citizen discovers that some material is missing (for example, a report), you need to inform the employee about this and demand an explanation.
The documents contain inaccurate information
Unreliable data means the indication of incorrect full name, circumstances of the accident, and diagrams from the scene of the accident. You need to point this out to the traffic police officer and demand correction.
If incorrectly completed documents have already been sent to court, you can prove your case using video recordings or witness testimony. Before the transfer, you can appeal everything through the head of the department.
How to write a petition
Familiarization with the case materials is possible both before and after the court hearing on the basis of an application.
Clause 14.2 of Instruction No. 36 dated April 29, 2003 contains the application form (Form No. 62). But it is not mandatory, it is an approximate example. This was indicated by the Supreme Court in the Appeal Ruling of the Appeal Board of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated November 25, 2014 No. APL14-575. Accordingly, for review, you can use any form that contains the necessary marks and details.
You can find the application form in the ConsultantPlus legal reference system. Form: Petition to a court of general jurisdiction to familiarize yourself with the materials of a civil case (Prepared for the ConsultantPlus system, 2021)
The application is filed in the file, and if a power of attorney is presented, a copy of it is also attached.
