On September 26, 2019, the results of the study “Statistical analysis of the use of precautionary measures by courts and adherence to the procedural deadlines 2014-2018 “ were presented at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center (UKMC).
The research was conducted with the support of the USAID New Justice Program by the Ukrainian Center for Social Data in partnership with the Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law under the project “Changes in the Judicial System of Ukraine: Statistical Analysis of Court Decisions.”
The Unified State Register of Court Decisions is a vast array of information that can be converted into data and analyzed statistically. And that analysis can show if there are any changes in the judiciary.
When applying precautionary measures, the effectiveness of criminal proceedings is achieved by preventing:
- attempts to hide from the authorities of pre-trial investigation and / or court,
- preventing the destruction, concealment or distortion of any of the things or documents that are essential for establishing the circumstances of the criminal offense,
- prevention of illegal influence on the victim, witness, other suspect, accused, expert, specialist in the same criminal proceedings,
- eliminating the possibility of obstructing criminal proceedings in other ways,
- to commit another criminal offense or to continue a criminal offense in which a person is suspected or accused.
Precautions are:
- personal obligation;
- personal guarantee;
- bail;
- house arrest;
- detention.
To analyze the application of precautionary measures by courts, 73,390 court decisions published in The Unified State Register of Court Decisions during 2014-2018 were selected, of which 8,294 were rejected as having been adopted before 2014.
The detention is the most common type of precautionary measure in general and for the vast majority of crime categories, despite the fact that detention is the exeptional and most severe precautionary measure.
At the same time, such types of precautionary measures as personal guarantee and bail are the least chosen. Also, there are very few decisions in the register that would change or cancel precautionary measures.
Bail sums tend to increase from year to year. The total amount of bails for 2014-2018 are UAH 5 784 164 888 (UAH 5.8 billion).
The full report is available for download here(UKR), the dataset on which the analysis was based is here.