Imposition of a preventive measure

The Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine stipulates that preventive measures include: personal undertaking, personal surety, bail, house arrest and detention.

Despite the fact that the legislature has defined as many as five types of preventive measures, the prosecution authorities usually prefer to remand the suspect in custody. The selective approach of prosecutors is easily explained, as it is precisely when this measure is chosen for a suspect that their rights are most restricted, and the ability to mount a proper defence is significantly impeded.

This is precisely why, at the stage when the court is considering a motion to apply a preventive measure against a suspect (defendant), it is important for them to properly exercise their procedural rights to obtain information regarding the substance and grounds of the suspicion or charge, the grounds for their detention, the opportunity to provide explanations regarding any circumstances, to examine the material evidence referred to by the prosecutor, and to provide items, documents, and the testimony of other persons to refute these arguments.

In order to make the most effective use of these rights, it is advisable for the suspect to exercise what is perhaps their most important right – the right to have a defence lawyer.

A qualified lawyer, with extensive experience in such cases and the ability to assess the situation objectively, will advise their client on the most appropriate course of defence and will take all possible steps to protect them, including against unfounded demands from the prosecution.