Electronic Document as a Type of Physical Evidence in Russian Criminal Proceedings

Abstract

The paper is devoted to a new type of physical evidence — an electronic document. The author examines specific features of this type of evidence and the questions of its categorization as physical evidence. An electronic document, as physical evidence, is compared with the categories “digital carriers of information”, “electronic evidence” and “computer information”. Specifics of the mechanism of trace formation for electronic evidence and its reflection in the outside world are studied. The topical issue of this study is the legal ambiguousness of the concept of electronic, or “digital” evidence, which is used as a source of information. The use of the definition “electronic document” from the standpoint of different approaches and the questions of its statutory regulation in Russian criminal court proceedings are examined. The author’s definition of an electronic document as evidence in criminal proceedings is formulated, key types of electronic documents and their specific features are named. The author studies the legal force and the criteria for the admissibility of such evidence in court. Views of difference authors regarding the use of gadgets for the recovery of electronic evidence and the need for the participation of an expert in the recovery and copying of electronic data are presented. It is concluded that this topic requires further work due to the total informatization of society, which is currently underway, and that such questions should be settled in legislation.