ESSENCE AND CONTENT OF THE CONCEPTS "ACCESS TO JUSTICE" IN CRIMINAL PROCESS

The purpose of the research. Accessible justice makes it possible to ensure the realization of fundamental human and civil rights and freedoms. Access to justice acts as a guarantee of the right to judicial protection enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation and ensures its obtaining with the help of legislatively enshrined legal procedures. The problem of citizens' access to justice occupies a key place in the criminal process in relation to the modern conditions of the existence of civil society in a state governed by the rule of law. Numerous violations and restrictions of human and civil rights and freedoms at the pre-trial stages of the criminal process indicate that the participants in the criminal process do not have a real opportunity to exercise the right to access to justice. One of the reasons for this negative phenomenon is the absence of the concept of “access to justice in criminal proceedings” enshrined in the legislation. Results. The authors come to the conclusion that the concept, features and content of access to justice in criminal proceedings should be considered as one of the most important means of protecting the rights and freedoms of man and citizen. The necessary legal elements that make up the mechanism for the implementation of access to justice are outlined. The authors draw attention to the legal positions of the European Court of Human Rights on access to justice. The position that access to justice should be considered as a legally guaranteed opportunity for a person and a citizen to turn to judicial protection for the restoration of their violated rights and freedoms has been substantiated. The author's definition of the concept of "access to justice in criminal proceedings" is proposed.