Abstract: There’s a necessity to study criminal proceedings in the case of death of the accused or the suspect as a differentiated form. The purpose of the research is the development of the optimal approach to the understanding of the form of criminal proceedings in the case of death of the suspect or the accused. The research subject is the criteria of a special procedure in relation to the peculiarities of the criminal proceedings in the case of death of the suspect or the accused. The author considers the criteria of differentiation of a procedural form, the most significant for this research, with account of the provisions of the Law on Criminal Procedure, theoretical concepts, the legal position of the Constitutional Court of Russia, and the explanations of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of Russia regarding the proceedings against a dead person. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the ongoing development of the theoretical background of criminal proceedings in the case of death of the accused or the suspect. Based on the analysis, the author formulates the conclusion that these proceedings should be classified as specific and enshrined in the law as a specific form of proceedings. The significant criteria of the proceedings against a dead person are: the purpose, the way of deciding on the criminal liability, the composition of legal relations, the requirements to their participants, the specific nature of criminal procedure, the socio-legal status of a justiciable person. The results of the research can be used for scientific and research purposes, and can be taken into account when preparing amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Russia related to criminal proceedings in the case of death of the suspect or the accused.