New approach in crime suppression raises many complex issues in criminal proceedings arrangement. Current reforms of criminal proceedings follow contemporary trends in the field of fight against corruption and organized crime and active development in the area of rights and freedoms protection. Bosnia and Herzegovina has recently entered the period of long-reaching changes in the process of uncovering and proving criminal offenses and interfering with basic human rights and freedoms. The goal of all of these changes can be represented as: more efficient fight against rising corruption and organized crime; incorporating new methods of fight against complex forms of contemporary crimes; speeding up of the criminal proceedings; simplification of criminal procedure for minor criminal offenses; protection of human rights and freedoms and harmonization of criminal regulations within Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the Criminal Procedure Codes of Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2003 changes have been achieved in those procedural norms and institutes that are related to uncovering of criminal offenses and their perpetrators, thus in part of criminal proceedings marked as investigation. Viewed as a whole, investigation as a part of preliminary proceedings is structured primarily on inquisitory and only certain accusatory elements. Thus, the prosecutor orders and conducts investigation independently rather than the court which implies that it carries out criminal prosecution but also investigation of criminal offense. In that sense, these laws depart form concept of investigative judge and conduct of investigation entrusted to prosecutor as well as to police, customs, tax and other authorities that must undertake their activities in accordance with the law and under supervision of the prosecutor. Rights and duties of the prosecutor during investigation and its relation towards other authorities in the stage of uncovering criminal offense are of special significance considering that results of trial to a considerable extent depend on well conducted and successful investigation as a beginning stage of criminal proceedings. Role of a judge in this stage of criminal proceedings comes into play in the event of application of procedural coercion measure and restriction of certain basic rights and freedoms of a suspect.Novi pristup u suzbijanju kriminaliteta otvara mnoga složena pitanja u uređenju krivičnog postupka. Sadašnje reforme krivičnog postupka prate savremene tendencije na području borbe protiv korupcije i organizovanog kriminaliteta, te dinamičan razvoj na području zaštite prava i sloboda čovjeka. U razdoblje dalekosežnih promjena u postupku otkrivanja i dokazivanja krivičnih djela i zahvata u osnovna prava i slobode čovjeka odnedavno je ušla i Bosni i Hercegovini. Cilj svih ovih promjena može se predstaviti kao: efikasnija borba protiv rastuće korupcije i organizovanog kriminaliteta; ugrađivanje novih metoda u borbi protiv složenih oblika savremenog kriminaliteta; ubrzanje krivičnog postupka; pojednostavljenje krivičnog postupka za lakša krivična djela; zaštita prava i Sloboda čovjeka i harmonizacija krivičnopravnih propisa unutar Bosne i Hercegovine. Zakonima o krivičnom postupku Bosne i Hercegovine iz 2003 godine realizovane su promjene i u onim procesnim normama i institutima koji su u vezi s otkrivanjem krivičinih djela i njegovih učinioca, dakle u dijelu krivičnog postupka koji se označava kao istraga. Posmatrano u cjelini, istraga je kao dio prethodnog postupka strukturirana prvenstveno na inkvizitornim i samo nekim akuzatornim elementima. Tako, nezavisno i potpuno samostalno istragu naređuje i sprovodi tužilac, a ne više sud, što znači da on vrši ne samo funkciju krivičnog gonjenja već i funkciju istraživanja krivičnog djela. U tom smislu, ovi zakoni napuštaju concept istražnog sudije i vođenje istrage povjeravaju tužiocu, kao i policijskim, carinskim, poreskim i drugim organima koji svoje aktivnosti moraju preduzimati u skladu sa zakonom i pod nadzorom tužioca. Prava i dužnosti tužioca tokom sprovođenja istrage i njegov odnos prema drugim organima u fazi otkrivanja krivičnog djela od naročitog su značaja s obzirom da rezultati suđenja u ozbiljnoj mjeri zavisi od kvalitetnog i uspješnog vođenja istrage kao početnog stadija krivičnog postupka. Funkcija sudije u ovoj fazi krivičnog postupka dolazi do izražaja u slučajevima primjene mjera procesne prinude, te ograničavanja određenih osnovnih prava i sloboda osumnjičenog lica
