Current issues of properties of evidence in criminal proceedings

Abstract

The article, in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, discloses the content of the propriety of evidence as a factor that must be taken into account during the evaluation of evidence in criminal proceedings. The relationship between the evidence's propriety and some legal categories of the institution of proof is indicated. Proposals have been put forward that can be useful during the improvement of the conceptual apparatus of the theory of evidence and the provisions of the current legislation. The relevance of the publication is due to the need to improve the process of proof during the pre-trial investigation and trial, to develop effective mechanisms for the successful performance of the tasks of criminal proceedings, which are defined in Art. 2 of the CCP of Ukraine. The purpose of preparing the article was to reveal the main issues of the legal nature of the ownership of evidence, in accordance with the definition given in Art. 85 of the CPC of Ukraine. The prerequisites for the formation of the specified goal were the modern problems that arise during the pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings. During the preparation of the publication, general scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge were used. Thus, from the general scientific methods, in particular, the system- structural method, the method of functional analysis, from the special ones - formal-legal, logical-procedural methods, the method of comparative jurisprudence were used. The main legislative norms related to the topic of the publication have been analyzed. The publication proves that the improvement of the conceptual apparatus, the correct formulation of the legal features of evidence and the implementation of the norms of international conventions into domestic legislation will contribute to the perfection of the procedural law and provide a unified approach to the proper protection of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the participants in criminal proceedings. At the same time, the authors took into account that the requirements for the propriety of the evidence have not acquired an imperative character in the legislation, and therefore they are decided individually by the investigator, the prosecutor and the court in each individual case. Knowing the circumstances to be proven in criminal proceedings is the purpose of proof, and propriety is a feature that not only characterizes the evidence, but also acts as a means of achieving the specified goal.