On the Criminalistic Classification of Criminal Proceedings Participants

The article is devoted to the criminalistic significance of different participants of criminal proceedings. It is stated that the classifications used in criminalistics are based on the criminal procedure criterion, or on the form of using forensically relevant information. The author analyzes viewpoints of scholars of criminalistics and criminal process on the classification of criminal court proceedings’ participants and identifies controversial aspects that give rise to doubts. The author also presents her own classification of criminal proceedings’ participants depending on the form of activity whose object is forensically relevant information, as well as the type, volume and degree to which this forensically relevant information is formed. It is suggested that two key classification groups should be singled out — subjects of forensically relevant information (the suspect, the accused, the witness, the victim) and subjects of criminalistic knowledge (the investigator, the detective, the operative worker, the expert, the specialist).