Status and Possibilities of Using Materials Obtained Outside the Procedural Form in Proving Criminal Cases

Proving in criminal cases consists in the collection, verification and evaluation of evidence. This fact is of fundamental importance for making a fair decision on the case. Proving is regulated in great detail by the current criminal procedure legislation, but in practice there are a number of situations when issues related to the use of materials obtained outside the procedural form become particularly relevant. On the one hand, it is in the interests of justice to use materials of interest to establish objective truth in a criminal case, on the other hand, such situations create threats of violation of the rights of participants in criminal proceedings. The purpose of the presented research is to analyze the current status and possibilities of using materials obtained outside the procedural form in proving criminal cases. The authors come to the conclusion that by now there are very contradictory positions of the legislator, law enforcement practice and the scientific community on the stated issues. On the one hand, the non-procedural form of proof is not fully denied, and in some cases, on the contrary, finds approval as a very effective way to obtain the necessary information about the circumstances of the commission of criminal acts, on the other hand, there is no detailed regulation of the status and possibilities of using such materials in the current legislation. Attention is focused on the need to eliminate gaps existing in the current legislation in order to formulate a unified approach to non-procedural proof and improve the effectiveness of investigative judicial practice, taking into account the rights and legitimate interests of all participants in criminal proceedings.

proof, non-procedural form of proof, criminal proceedings, use of the results of operational investigative activities, criminal procedural legislation