SUCCESSION OF LEGAL ENTITIES IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS: THE NEED FOR LEGISLATIVE REGULATION
HOVHANNES BAYANDURYAN
Member of the Chamber of Advocates of the RA,
PhD Student at the Chair of Criminal Law and
Criminal Procedure Law of Armenian-Russian University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59546/18290744-2025.7-9-105
Annotation.
Thе article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the problem of procedural succession of legal entities in criminal proceedings, especially in the context of their reorganization or liquidation. In the absence of clear regulation of this institution in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia, the author examines doctrinal approaches, law enforcement practice and foreign experience, including the position of the European Court of Human Rights and the legislation of the United States, Spain, Romania and other countries. The main attention is paid to the substantiation of the possibility and necessity of introducing the institution of procedural succession of a legal entity, including the accused, into the Armenian criminal procedure legislation, taking into account the criteria of legal and factual identity, as well as the good faith of the reorganization. The article proposes draft norms that ensure a balance between the principle of individual criminal liability and the effectiveness of criminal prosecution, which is especially important in the fight against economic and corporate crime.