The concept of evidence in criminal procedural law

Evidence is always one of the most important elements of any process.

 

Evidence is any factual data obtained in accordance with the procedure provided for by law and on the basis of which the presence or absence of facts and circumstances relevant to the resolution of the case is established. They can be classified as follows: primary and derivative, accusatory and exculpatory, direct and indirect, personal, written and material.

 

Article 84 of the criminal procedure code of Ukraine defines evidence in criminal proceedings as factual data obtained in accordance with the procedure provided for by the criminal procedure law, on the basis of which the investigator, Prosecutor and court establish the presence or absence of facts and circumstances relevant to criminal proceedings and are subject to proof.

 

At the same time, the above-mentioned article of the Code defines the source of evidence as evidence, material evidence, documents and expert opinions. In addition, to reveal the concept of proof, you must have a clear understanding of what exactly can be from all of the above.

 

Thus, the testimony includes a procedural statement of the circumstances of the event on the part of the victim, suspect, witness or expert. That is, at the stage of pre-trial investigation, this can only be the information that was obtained by a procedurally authorized person (investigator, investigator, Prosecutor) in the form and method provided for by the criminal procedure code of Ukraine – the interrogation Protocol, which was processed properly.

 

At the stage of judicial review of criminal proceedings, testimony can be selected by the judge and recorded in the minutes of the court session, in addition, they can be recorded using specially configured audio or video devices of the court.

 

Material evidence in criminal proceedings includes any objects of the material world (items) that contain information about the events and circumstances of the Commission of a criminal offense: items with the help of which the crime is committed, items on which there was a criminal attack, or other items that contain information about the event.

 

Documents in criminal proceedings include protocols of investigative (procedural) actions and appendices to them, media on which investigative (procedural) actions are recorded, personal documents of individuals, digital documents, official documents, and so on. Thus, documents, as a source of evidence, can contain an exhaustive list of information about the circumstances of the Commission of a criminal offense and be crucial in proving it.

 

According to the provisions of the criminal procedure code of Ukraine, a document is a material object specially created for the purpose of preserving information, which contains information recorded using written signs, sound, image, and so on, which can be used as evidence of a fact or circumstances established during criminal proceedings.

 

The CPC defines an expert's opinion as a detailed description of the research conducted by the expert and the conclusions drawn based on their results, justified answers to questions posed by the person who engaged the expert, or by the investigating judge or court that commissioned the examination.

 

Based on the above-mentioned sources of evidence, it can be argued that they characterize the very concept of what is evidence in criminal proceedings.

In addition, an integral element of the concept of evidence is the determination of their ownership and admissibility.

 

The legislator determined that appropriate evidence is evidence that directly or indirectly confirms the existence or absence of circumstances to be proved in criminal proceedings, and other circumstances that are relevant to criminal proceedings, as well as the reliability or unreliability, the possibility or impossibility of using other evidence.

 

In turn, the proof is considered admissible if it is obtained in accordance with the procedure established by the criminal procedure code of Ukraine.

 

We will discuss in more detail the ownership and admissibility of evidence next time, since this topic is very important for the criminal process and it should not be treated superficially.