The subject of the dispute concerns the legality of closing criminal proceedings against a customs state inspector due to the expiration of pre-trial investigation terms. The court was guided by the fact that since the criminal proceedings were initiated before March 16, 2018 (when amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code came into effect), and then another proceeding was separated from it, the new rules on case closure due to investigation term expiration do not apply to the separated proceeding. Moreover, according to the position of the United Chamber of the Criminal Cassation Court, in such proceedings, the prosecutor had the authority to extend pre-trial investigation terms.
The Supreme Court reversed the decisions of previous instances on closing the criminal proceedings and sent the case for a new review to the court of first instance.
