Classification of evidence in criminal proceedings. The concept of evidence in criminal proceedings

The concept and classification of forensic evidencerequires prior consideration of the question of what the criminal procedure in the Russian Federation is and what function it performs. Opinions of authors-lawyers on this subject are ambiguous and versatile.

The concept of criminal proceedings

In the most general concept of the criminal process is intendedto solve the problems of appointing a fair punishment for those who committed a crime, and about the rehabilitation of innocent citizens. The method of solving them is the procedural form (or a set of actions and procedures provided for by the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation).

In a narrower sense, the criminal process is the active actions of the bodies of inquiry, the investigators, the prosecutor's office and the court, providing for the initiation, investigation and resolution of criminal cases.

Tasks of the criminal process

• Protection of legal interests, rights and freedoms of organizations and citizens.
• Prompt, prompt and full disclosure of the crimes committed or those that are in the process of preparation.
• Establishment and punishment of guilty persons, as well as the rehabilitation of innocent citizens.
• Correct application and interpretation of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the norms of international law and the principles generally recognized in the process of criminal proceedings.

The classification of evidence in criminal proceedings is essential. But initially you need to define the concept itself and its role in legal proceedings.

Place of evidence in the criminal procedure of the Russian Federation

In part 1 of article 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation it is stipulated thatThe purpose of criminal proceedings is primarily to protect the interests and legal rights of organizations and citizens who have been harmed as a result of a crime. Secondly, it is the protection of individuals from illegal and groundless accusations, as well as the imposition of a punishment by the court and the restriction of rights and freedoms.

The implementation of this appointment withinCriminal proceedings are handled by the inquiry officer, the investigator, the prosecution authorities and the court. One of the main components of this activity is the process of proof. It is important that any phenomenon, action or fact leaves traces in the real material world or mental images in the human mind. The concept of evidence in criminal proceedings takes these facts as a basis. The traces will be a reflection of the committed criminal offense, on their basis, the bodies of inquiry and investigation restore the picture of the incident, establish the circumstances, the person who committed the crime, its motives. Thus, the evidence in the criminal process is any genuine, real-life data that was obtained and certified in the form prescribed by law, with the help of which the question of the presence of a corpus delicti, innocence or guilt of a person, and other circumstances relevant to the criminal case being investigated is resolved .

Evidence properties

The concept of evidence in a criminal process closelyrelated to their properties. One of the main ones is relevance, that is, the ability to assert or refute any factual circumstances that are important for the criminal case under investigation. The second property is admissibility. It consists in the ability of the information obtained to be used in court proceedings as evidence. It must be obtained as a result of the activities of the persons authorized to it: the investigator and the inquiry officer, the court. Evidence must be obtained from one of the sources that are spelled out in the law:

• the testimony of the suspect and the accused;
• protocols of investigative and judicial actions;
• the testimony of the victim, witnesses;
• evidence;
• testimony and professional expert opinion;
• testimony and expert opinion;
• other documents.

The way evidence is collected must complyestablished order of law. They must also be fixed in the form prescribed by the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. For example, if this is the testimony of the participants in the legal proceedings (the victim, the witness, the accused, the suspect), then they should be in the form of an interrogation report.

Two other important properties are authenticity andadequacy. The first is the correspondence of the evidence to the circumstances of the incident. Any official can recognize this. But on behalf of the state to recognize the evidence can only reliable court. Sufficiency means a property that is the ability of this evidence to establish all the circumstances that are to be proved. Based on the properties, nature and other factors based on the classification of evidence in criminal proceedings.

Invalid evidence

The concept of inadmissibility of evidenceapplies if all of the above requirements are not met. The law clearly defines the list of information that is unacceptable to use in the criminal process. The following are relevant to them:

• the testimony of the accused or the suspect,received in the course of pre-trial proceedings without the presence of a defense counsel or in the event that they refused him, but did not confirm this fact at the court hearing;
• testimony obtained during the interrogation of a witness or a victim, based on rumors or assumptions, as well as information obtained from a witness, the source of which he refuses to give;
• other evidence obtained by methods contrary to the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Classification of evidence in the criminal procedure of the Russian Federation

Implies separation, distributionin different classes. The same proof can be attributed to different groups. The reason for this is that the grounds for classifying evidence may be different: the source of receipt, relevance to the subject of proof, etc. In this connection, the following groups can be noted:

1. Initial and derivatives - depending onnature and nature of the source of evidence in criminal proceedings. The first are the testimony of eyewitnesses, the instrument of the crime, the originals of various documents. Thus, it is evidence obtained from primary sources. Otherwise, the information contained in the source, which received the required facts from another source, called derivatives. For example: various recorded traces left on the scene, or the testimony of witnesses, which became known to them from eyewitnesses, copies of documents.
2. Классификация судебных доказательств в depending on their ability to confirm or refute the question of the guilt of a certain person in the commission of a criminal act. The first group is accusatory, they indicate the presence of a corpus delicti, expose the accused, and also aggravate the punishment if the court finds him guilty. The second category - exculpatory, on the contrary, they testify to the absence of corpus delicti and justify a person or mitigate the punishment imposed on him. An elementary example is such a thing as an alibi, familiar to all. This is also justifiable evidence, which means the impossibility of finding a person at the crime scene at the time of its commission.
3. Classification and types of evidence dependingon their relationship with the subject of proof. They can be direct and indirect. The main task of the investigators is to collect direct evidence that indicates the circumstances of the case without intermediate links. For example, the testimony of an eyewitness (witness) that the accused stabbed the victim, or the testimony of the victim himself. Indirect evidence points to the circumstances of the case under investigation indirectly, through intermediate facts. For example: fingerprints of a person who has a criminal record (extinguished or not) on a bottle or glass found at the scene of the incident. The presence of only indirect evidence for the prosecution is not enough, it is necessary to establish a perfectly reasonable causal relationship between it and the events that have occurred in order to exclude an accidental coincidence.
4. Личные и вещественные.This classification of forensic evidence is based on the difference in the nature of the information carrier. Real are, of course, objects from the material surrounding world, which show traces of interaction with a person or other objects related to the event under investigation. Personal evidence is those that are based on a person’s psychic perception and awareness of what is happening. These primarily include the testimony of participants in the criminal process, including an expert and a specialist, as well as their conclusion and other documents.

Evidence

These are objects of the material world, separatequalities whose states are directly related to the event. The objects themselves are a means of proof, and the evidence is their properties and attributes. For example, a sleeve from a certain type of firearms. The classification of material evidence is carried out according to the same principles as the general. The Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation Article 81 Part 1 provides a list of cases in which any material objects can acquire the status of evidence.

Written evidence as a kind of material

Their material basis is constituted by objects.of the objective world, most often it is wood, metal, paper, which retain written signs on themselves. The most common and complete is the following classification of written evidence:

• depending on the subject of origin: official and private;
• by the nature of the content: reference and information (reports, minutes, letters, etc.) and administrative documents (for example, written transactions);
• in form: simple, mandatory form and content (for example, birth certificate), notarized contracts (with or without registration with management bodies).

Testimony of the suspect

Classification of evidence in criminal proceedingsputs them in the personal group. This is information that is obtained during the preliminary investigation, as a result of interrogation, executed in the manner prescribed by law and constituting the grounds for initiating a criminal case against the person being questioned, as well as for applying a detention or other preventive measure. The interrogation is made not later than one day from the moment of detention and in strict accordance with the requirements of the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation. The testimony of the accused is distinguished by the fact that they receive information on the substance of the charge already brought.

Testimony of the victim, the witness

The interrogation is similar, but there are some differences.Giving testimony is for the victim both a duty and his legal right. Interrogation can be carried out on his initiative. But it is necessary to evaluate the information received objectively, since it is an interested person. A witness may not testify against close relatives, himself, or his spouse. This is the right of every citizen of the Russian Federation, enshrined in the Constitution. In other cases, he is responsible for false testimony, or even rejection of them.

Expert and specialist testimony

Interrogation is carried out after receivedconclusion on the studied question, for the purpose of its specification or detailed explanation. The testimony of a specialist is used when the circumstances of the case under investigation require the involvement of a person who has special knowledge in any field of professional activity.

Thus, we can conclude that the classification and types of evidence in criminal proceedings are diverse and are divided according to various grounds and grounds.