Optimization of the prosecutor's powers in the system of ensuring the safety of participants in criminal proceedings

In modern conditions, when the protection of the rights and lawful interests of participants in criminal proceedings becomes particularly relevant, the issue of ensuring their safety stands out as one of the fundamental principles of procedural activity. The prosecutor, as the key guarantor of legality and effectiveness of criminal prosecution, is called upon to play a central role in the implementation of this principle. This article, based on a systemic analysis of the norms of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (CPC RF) and special legislation on state protection, reveals a clear conflict: the declared procedural law provision allowing the prosecutor to apply security measures does not find adequate reflection in the specific norms regulating his procedural powers. Moreover, the current provisions defining the legal status of the prosecutor in the field of state protection reveal insufficient elaboration of mechanisms for his participation in ensuring the safety of participants in criminal proceedings. The subject of this study is the theoretical aspects, current procedural norms, and special legislation on state protection regulating the powers of the prosecutor in ensuring the safety of participants in criminal proceedings. The work employs systemic-structural, formal-legal, comparative-legal methods, as well as a dialectical approach to the analysis of existing legal norms, which allowed for a comprehensive assessment of the current legal situation. The scientific novelty lies in the theoretical justification of the need to develop new, practically oriented proposals for the legislative expansion and clarification of the prosecutor's competence in the mechanism for applying security measures. In this regard, the article proposes a set of specific steps to optimize the existing legislation aimed at endowing the prosecutor with effective legal tools for decision-making and implementation of security measures. The proposed solutions are aimed at eliminating identified gaps and forming a coherent system that ensures proper protection of the participants in proceedings at all stages of the criminal process. The introduction of the proposed changes will contribute to increasing the effectiveness of criminal prosecution, realizing the fundamental principles of procedural activity, strengthening trust in justice, and ultimately guaranteeing the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens.