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

The concept and classification of judicial evidence requires a preliminary consideration of the question of what is the criminal process in the Russian Federation and what function it performs. The opinions of authors-lawyers on this account are ambiguous and versatile.

The concept of criminal procedure

In the most general concept, the criminal process is designed to solve the tasks of assigning a fair punishment for those who committed the crime, and the rehabilitation of innocent citizens. The method of their decision is the procedural form (or 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, investigators, prosecutors and courts, which provide for the initiation, investigation and resolution of criminal cases.

The tasks of the criminal process

• Protection of legitimate interests, rights and freedoms of organizations and citizens.
• Rapid, prompt and complete disclosure of committed crimes 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 generally recognized principles in the criminal justice process.

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

The Place of Evidence in the Criminal Process of the Russian Federation

Part 1 of Article 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that the purpose of criminal proceedings is primarily to protect the interests and legal rights of organizations and citizens who were harmed as a result of the crime. Secondly, it protects individuals from unlawful and groundless accusations, as well as the imposition of punishment by the court and the restriction of rights and freedoms.

Implementation of this appointment in the criminal procedure is handled by the investigator, investigator, prosecutors and courts. One of the main components of this activity is the process of proof. It is important that any phenomenon, action or fact leaves behind itself traces in the real material world or mental images in the mind of a person. The concept of evidence in the criminal process takes these facts as a basis. Traces will be a reflection of the criminal offense committed, on their basis the bodies of inquiry and investigation restore the picture of what happened, establish the circumstances, the person who committed the crime, its motives. Thus, the evidence in the criminal process is any genuine, real data that has been received and certified in the form prescribed by law, with the help of which the question of the presence of a crime, the innocence or guilt of a person, and other circumstances relevant to the criminal case under investigation .

Properties of evidence

The concept of evidence in the criminal process is closely related to their properties. One of the main is relativity, that is, the ability to assert or refute any factual circumstances that are important to the criminal case under investigation. The second property is the admissibility. It is the ability of the information received to be used in the trial as evidence. It must be extracted as a result of the activities of the persons authorized to do this: the investigator and the investigator, the court. The proof must be obtained from one of the sources that are prescribed in the law:

• Evidence of the suspect and the accused;
• Protocols of investigative and judicial actions ;
• Testimony of the victim, witnesses;
• evidence;
• Testimony and professional opinion of the expert ;
• Testimony and conclusion of a specialist;
• Other documents.

The method of collecting evidence must comply with the procedure established by law. It is also necessary to fix them in the form envisaged by the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. For example, if it is the testimony of the participants in the proceedings (the victim, witness, accused, suspect), they should be formalized in the form of a protocol of interrogation.

Two other important properties are reliability and sufficiency. Under the first is understood the conformity of evidence to the circumstances of the event. It can be recognized by any official. But on behalf of the state to recognize the evidence only the court can be reliable. Sufficiency means a property that is the ability of these evidence to establish all, without exception, circumstances that are subject to proof. Based on the properties, nature and other factors, the classification of evidence in criminal proceedings is based.

Inadmissible evidence

The concept of inadmissibility of evidence is applied if all of the above requirements are not met. The law clearly defines a list of information that can not be used in criminal proceedings. The following apply to them:

• Testimony of the accused or suspect, obtained during the pre-trial proceedings without the presence of the defense counsel, or if they refused it, but this fact was not confirmed at the court session;
• Evidence obtained during questioning of a witness or victim, based on rumors or assumptions, as well as information received from a witness whose source he refuses to name;
• Other evidence obtained in ways contrary to the CCP RF.

Classification of evidence in the criminal process of the Russian Federation

It implies a division, distribution into different classes. The same proof can be attributed to different groups. The reason for this is that the basis for the classification of evidence can be different: the source of receipt, the relevance to the subject of evidence, etc. In this connection, the following groups can be noted:

1. Initial and derivative - depending on the nature and nature of the source of evidence in the criminal process. The first include the testimony of eyewitnesses, the instrument of committing a crime, the originals of various documents. Thus, this is evidence obtained from primary sources. Otherwise, the information contained in the source that received the required facts from another source is called derivatives. For example: various fixed traces left at the scene of the incident, or testimony of witnesses, who became known to them from the eyewitness's words, copies of documents.
2. Classification of judicial evidence, depending on their ability to confirm or refute the question of the presence of guilt of a certain person in the commission of a criminal act. The first group is the accusatory ones, they indicate the presence of a crime, expose the accused, and also aggravate the punishment if the court finds him guilty. The second category is justified, they, on the contrary, testify to the absence of corpus delicti and justify the person or soften the punishment imposed on him. An elementary example is the notion of an alibi familiar to everyone. This is also an exculpatory 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, depending on their relationship to the subject of evidence. They can be direct and indirect. The main task of persons conducting an investigation of a crime is the gathering of direct evidence, which points to the circumstances of the case without intermediary links. For example, the testimony of an eyewitness (witness) that the accused stabbed the victim, or the victim's testimony. Indirect evidence indicates the circumstances of the case being investigated indirectly, through intermediate facts. For example: fingerprints of a person with a criminal record (extinguished or not) on a bottle or glass found on the scene. The presence of only circumstantial evidence for bringing charges is not enough, it is necessary to establish a completely justified cause-effect relationship between it and the events that occurred, in order to rule out an accidental coincidence.
4. Personal and material. This classification of judicial evidence is based on the difference in the nature of the information carrier. Real - these are, of course, objects from the material world around which the traces of interaction with a person or other objects related to the event under investigation are displayed. Personal evidence is one that is based on a person's mental perception and awareness of what is happening. They 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, separate qualities, the states of which have a direct connection with the event. The objects themselves are the means of proving, and the evidence is their properties and attributes. For example, a shell from a certain type of firearm. Classification of physical evidence is carried out on the same principles as the general. The Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, Article 81.1, provides a list of cases in which any material objects can acquire the status of physical evidence.

Written evidence as a kind of real

Their material basis is made up of objects of the objective world, most often it is wood, metal, paper, which retain the 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 information (reports, minutes, letters, etc.) and administrative documents (for example, transactions executed in writing);
• In the form: simple, mandatory form and content (for example, birth certificate), notarized contracts (with registration in or without government).

The suspect's testimony

Classification of evidence in the criminal process includes them in a group of personal. This information is received during the preliminary investigation, as a result of interrogation, executed in the manner prescribed by law and constitutes grounds for initiating a criminal case against the person being questioned and also for the application of detention or other preventive measures. Interrogation is made not later than a day after the arrest and in strict accordance with the requirements of the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation. The testimony of the accused differs in that they receive information on the merits of the charges already brought against them.

Testimony of the victim, witness

The interrogation is similar, but there are some differences. The giving of testimony is for the victim both a duty and his legal right. Interrogation can also be carried out on his own initiative. But you need to evaluate the information received objectively, since it is an interested person. A witness can not testify against close relatives, himself, the 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 in general rejection of them.

Indications of expert and specialist

Interrogation is carried out after the conclusion on the investigated issue has been received, with a view of its clarification or detailed explanation. The testimony of a specialist is used when the circumstances of the case being investigated require the involvement of a person with special knowledge in any field of professional activity.

Thus, it can be concluded that the classification and types of evidence in the criminal process are diverse and divided by different grounds and grounds.