Law Journal of the National Academy of Internal Affairs

In the proposed article, the author conducts a study of the mystery of pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings of some of the European states, namely the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Lithuania, the Republic of Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. The article explores scientific views on the concept of "secrets of pre-trial investigation" on the basis of which the author's definition of this type of secret information is imposed. Attention is focused on the information that contains the secret of pre-trial investigation, namely information about the crime itself and data affecting the personal and family life of a person. Based on the analysis of the provisions of international European law, the author concludes that the norms of the criminal procedural legislation of some European states are fragmentary regarding the procedure for divulging the secret of pre-trial investigation. In the conclusion of the article, the author proposes to regulate the rules relating to the procedure for disclosure of pre-trial investigation data that contain information about the personal and family life.