Title of the article

Digital Information in Criminal Procedure Evidence: Concept and Properties

 Authors 

Igor I. Kartashov — Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Procedure, Russian State University of Justice (Central Branch), Candidate of law, Associate Professor, 95 20-letiia Oktiabria Street, Voronezh, 394006, Russia, iik_vrn@mail.ru
Oleg A. Lesnikov — Master Student, Russian State University of Justice (Central Branch), 95 20-letiia Oktiabria Street, Voronezh, 394006, Russia, lesnikov.oleg95@mail.ru

 Category 

CRIMINAL LAW, LAW ENFORCEMENT

Year,.Volume, Number 

2020, Vol. 8, № 4 (32)

 Pages 

5-14

 Article type 

Original article

 Index UDK 

343.1

 DOI 

10.21685/2307-9525-2020-8-4-9

 Abstract 

The article analyses various points of view on the concepts of "information" and "digital information", as well as some features of the operation of these concepts in legislative acts and law enforcement. The authors conclude that there is an objective need to replace the "electronic media" in the text of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation with a broader and more relevant term "digital media", as well as introduce "digital information" as a new type of sources of evidence. Under digital information in criminal proceedings, in particular, it is proposed to understand any information presented in the form of discrete signals of any physical nature, transmitted or stored in information and telecom-munication networks or separate devices (media), which is important for a criminal case. The appearance in the list of sources of evidence of a new group - "digital information", according to the authors, does not contradict the current criminal procedure law. It is possible to transform digital information into procedural evi-dence only through the production of investigative actions, when it is expressed in a form perceived by a person. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the features of digital information, which significantly affect its use in proving in criminal cases. These properties, according to the authors, include: the im-possibility of direct perception of digital information by a person, since it is an immaterial object, which gives it a certain similarity with the ideal traces stored in human memory; ease of changing, copying and deleting digital information; the need to use specific media outside of which digital information cannot exist.

 Keywords 

criminal proceedings, evidence, digital information, digital evidence, physical evidence, sources of evidence

 Download PDF

References

1. Ozhegov S. I., Shvedova N. Iu. Tolkovyi slovar' [Explanatory Dictionary]. Moscow, Az" Publ., 1992, 907 p.
2. Ovchinskii S. S.; Ovchinskii A. S., Ovchinskii V. S. (ed). Operativno-rozysknaia infor-matsiia [Operational-Search Information]. Moscow, INFRA-M Publ., 2000, 367 p.
3. Abdeev R. F. Filosofiia informatsionnoi tsivilizatsii [Philosophy of Information Civiliza-tion]. Moscow, Vlados Publ., 1994, 247 p.
4. Stonier T. Information and the Internal Structure of the Universe: An Exploration into Information Physics. London: Springer-Verlag, 1990, 166 р.
5. Kopnin P. V. Vvedenie v marksistskuiu gnoseologiiu [Introduction to Marxist Gno-seology]. Kiev, Naukovadumka Publ., 1966, 288 p.
6. Mamikonov A. G. Upravlenie i informatsiia [Management and Information]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1975, 184 p.
7. Lysak I. V. Information as a General Scientific and Philosophical Concept Basic Ap-proach to its Definition. Filosofskie problemy informatsionnykh tekhnologii i kiberprostranstva = Philosophical challenges of information technology and cyberspace, 2015, no. 2, pp. 9-26 (in Russian).
8. Ursul A. D. Priroda informatsii: filosofskii ocherk [The Nature of Information: A Philo-sophical Essay]. Chelyabinsk, Cheliabinskaia gos. akad. kul'tury i iskusstv Publ., 2010, 231 p.
9. Vekhov V. B. Kriminalisticheskoe uchenie o komp'iuternoi informatsii i sredstva ee obrabotki: avtoref. dis. … d-ra iurid. nauk: 12.00.09 [Forensic training on computer information and its processing tools: abstract of diss. of doct. of law]. Volgograd. 1995, 45 p.
10. Meshcheriakov V. A. Elektronnye tsifrovye ob"ekty v ugolovnom protsesse i kri-minalistike [Electronic Digital Objects in Criminal Proceedings and Forensic Science]. Voro-nezhskie kriminalisticheskie chteniia: sb. nauch. tr. Vyp. 5. [Voronezh Forensic Readings: a collection of scientific works. Issue 5]. Voronezh, Voronezhskii gosudarstvennyi universitet Publ., 2004, pp. 153-169.
11. Zigura N. V. Komp'iuternaia informatsiia kak vid dokazatel'stv v ugolovnom pro-tsesse Rossii: avtoref. dis. … kand. iurid. nauk : 12.00.09 [Computer information as a type of evidence in the criminal trial of Russia: abstract of diss. of cand. of law ] Chelyabinsk, 2010, 20 p.
12. Ivanov N. A. Digital Information in the Criminal Process. Biblioteka kriminalista = Forensic Science Library, 2013, no. 5 (10), pp. 93-102 (in Russian).
13. Kushnirenko S. P. Digital Information as an Independent Object of Forensic Re-search. Vestnik kriminalistiki = Bulletin of Criminalistics, 2006, no. 2 (18), pp. 43-47 (in Russian).
14. Koldin A. V., Krestovikov O. A. Istochniki kriminalisticheskoi informatsii [Sources of forensic information]. Moscow, Iurlitinform Publ., 2007, 185 p.
15. Vorozhbit S. P. Elektronnye sredstva dokazyvaniia v ugolovnom i grazhdanskom protsesse: avtoref. dis…. kand. iurid. nauk : 12.00.15 [Electronic Evidence in Criminal and Civil Proceedings: abstract of diss. of cand. of law]. Saint Petersburg, 2011, 25 p.
16. Kartashov I. I. Problems of Evidence Generation in Criminal Proceedings Based on Digital Information. Iuridicheskaia nauka = Legal Science, 2018, no. 3, pp. 99-103 (in Russian).
17. Zigura N. A., Kudriavtseva A. V. Komp'iuternaia informatsiia kak vid dokazatel'stva v ugolovnom protsesse Rossii : monografiia [Computer Information as a Type of Evidence in the Criminal Trial of Russia: Monography]. Moscow, Iurlitinform Publ., 2011, 173 p.
18. Baranov A. M. Electronic Evidence: Illusion of the Criminal Process of the 21st Cen-tury. Ugolovnaia iustitsiia = Russian Journal of Criminal Law, 2019, no. 13, pp. 64-69 (in Russian).
19. Zazulin A. I. Validity of Term «Electronic Data Storage» in Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. Pravoporiadok: istoriia, teoriia, praktika = Legal Order: history, theory, practice, 2016, no. 4 (11), pp. 54-57 (in Russian).

For citation

Kartashov I.I., Lesnikov O.A. Digital Information in Criminal Procedure Evidence: Con-cept and Properties. Electronic scientific journal «Science. Society. State», 2020, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 73-82, available at: http://esj.pnzgu.ru. DOI: 10.21685/2307-9525-2020-8-4-9. (In Russian).