ON IMPROVING THE LEGISLATIVE REGULATION OF FALSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE AND INTELLIGENCE, COUNTER-INTELLIGENCE MATERIAL

Abstract

This study focuses on the analysis of Article 416 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on falsification of evidence and operational-search, counter-intelligence materials on the fact that this article has insufficient definition and does not cover all illegal actions with evidence and operational-search, counter-intelligence materials. Actions such as destruction, concealment and seizure are not less dangerous than falsification. However, these actions have not been criminalised yet. While there are examples of foreign states (Latvia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Canada, Sweden, India), which enshrine in their criminal legislation different ways of committing illegal actions in respect of evidence, such positive experience should not be overlooked. Under part 4 of Article 416 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan there is a certain inconsistency with the criminal procedural legislation in terms of establishing a narrow range of persons in the disposition of this norm who are liable for falsification of evidence in criminal proceedings. This creates problems in criminal law assessment of unlawful actions with evidence and limits possibilities of the criminal law to bring to responsibility for such actions a wide range of persons who simply are not listed in the disposition of clause 416 part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The mentioned problems reduce efficiency of prevention of falsification of evidence and operative-search, counter-intelligence materials as a highly latent crime. In order to eliminate this, amendments to the current version of article 416 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan are proposed.