PARTICIPATION OF AN INTERPRETER IN COVERT INVESTIGATIVE (SEARCH) ACTIVITIES IN UKRAINE: REGULATORY AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS

Abstract

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the legal and practical aspects of interpreter partic- ipation during covert investigative (search) activities in criminal proceedings in Ukraine. The relevance of the study stems from the increasing number of criminal cases involving foreigners, stateless persons, and Ukrainian citizens who lack a suffi cient command of the state language. This objectively requires the involvement of an interpreter at various stages of pre-trial investigation, particularly during covert investigative (search) activities. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to analyze the legal grounds for interpreter participation and identify the risks of poor-quality interpretation, which impact the admissibility of evidence and the right to a fair trial. Research methods: to implement and achieve the goal, to obtain substantiated conclusions in the pro- cess of research, the following methods were used: analysis of regulatory legal acts (Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, Law of Ukraine “On operational-investigative activities”), content analysis of scientifi c works, comparative legal method, method of analysis of specifi c cases in the process of studying the practice of the Supreme Court and the ECHR, systematization and generalization of the results to form scientifi cally substantiated conclusions. Results. The article analyzes the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine “On Operational and Investigative Activities” and international legal norms regarding the right to a fair trial, in particular, the practice of the European Court of Human Rights regarding guarantees of the linguistic rights of participants in criminal proceedings. Special attention is paid to the doctrinal approaches of domestic scholars to determining the procedural status of translators, their rights and obligations, as well as the limits of participation in covert investigative (investigative) actions. The features of involving a translator under the conditions of confi dentiality and non-disclosure of such procedural measures are studied, the problems of recording the results of covert investigative (investigative) actions related to the translation of audio and video information are analyzed, as well as the admissibility of evidence obtained with the participation of a translator are analyzed. Examples of national case law and ECHR decisions are given, demonstrating the importance of a translator as a guarantee of the right to defense and a fair trial. Conclusions are drawn regarding the need to improve Ukrainian criminal procedural legislation by clearly regulating the participation of translators in covert investigative (search) operations, as well as developing uniform standards for engaging and evaluating their work.