Prosecutor in the court debate of the parties in the criminal process of the Russian Empire

The article analyzes the legal status and the actual role of the prosecutor in the judicial debate of the parties in the criminal process of the Russian Empire. The overall result of the consideration of the criminal case largely depends on this part of the trial. And the study of historical experience is necessary for a better understanding and solution of the problems of modern criminal procedure, which is based on many principles established by the judicial reform of 1864. The judicial debates were a manifestation of the new principle of adversarial in criminal process. In their accusatory speeches, the prosecutors often not only went beyond the established limits of the debate, but also did not comply with moral requirements in relation to defendants and defenders. In some cases, there were conflicts between prosecutors and defense lawyers in the trial, and the most gross violations of the rules of conduct by the parties of the debate led to the cancellation of the verdicts by the Governing Senate. At the initial stage after the judicial and military-judicial reforms, the prosecutors in court were correct and unbiased. However, in the 1880s, the tendency of their accusatory bias increased, mainly in political cases