Procedural Guarantees of the Rights of Participants in Investigative Activities Carried out via a Video Conferencing System

Abstract

The modern digital transformation of Russian society affects criminal proceedings, which results in the expansion of the scope of application of LegalTech tools in the course of criminal proceedings. The purpose of LegalTech in modern criminal proceedings is to optimize not only the professional activities of the governmental participants in the criminal procedure when they carry out procedural actions and make procedural decisions, but also the procedural mechanism for protecting rights, defending legitimate interests by non-governmental participants in the field of activity under consideration. The results of the analysis of domestic and foreign experience (the Republic of Belarus, Ukraine, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Finland, and the Swiss Confederation), alongside with the position of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, makes it possible to conclude that the investigator should use a video conference system during interrogation, confrontation, and identification.At the same time, the author presents some arguments confirming the need to implement additional legal, organizational, technological measures in pre-trial proceedings in order to overcome the risks of unjustified restriction of the rights and legitimate interests of participants in these investigative actions.We are talking about expanding the rights of participants in the analyzed investigative actions, clarifying the legal regulation of the procedure for video recording during the production of these actions, regulating the procedural status of the investigator-executor of the order on organizing the participation of a suspect, accused, victim, witness in investigative actions carried out using a video conferencing system, optimizing the technological support of criminal investigation business.The author proposes to expand the procedural guarantees of the rights of certain social groups who, due to their state of health, social immaturity, lack of technical equipment, are not able to perceive the LegalTech technological tools, when an investigator decides on the production of an investigative action using a video conferencing system.