Starting the criminal process in the legal regulation of the Republic of Moldova – an essential criterion of the special investigation activity

The object of study of the present paper is the starting limit of the criminal process, which in the legal regulation of the Republic of Moldova is distinct from that of starting the criminal prosecution. The topicality of the investigated theme derives from the complexity of the problems related to the identification of the respective limit, especially since the Moldovan legislator avoided establishing a certain procedural act that would mark the beginning of the criminal process. The interest of the analysis of this research subject starts from the conditioning provided in Law no. 59/2012 on the special investigation activity regarding the performance of different categories of special investigation measures either within or outside the criminal process, a condition that marks the legality or illegality of those measures. Following the research carried out, it is concluded that the current provisions of the Moldovan procedural law are not clear enough regarding the beginning of the criminal process, a fact that essentially limits the potential of special investigations in the phase of the criminal process before the criminal prosecution and that significantly benefits the criminal elements, ruining the trust of the state by law the Republic of Moldova – guarantor of constitutional values.