The principle of immediacy as a method of examination of evidence in criminal proceedings

The article notes the methodological importance of the principle of immediacy for establishing the actual factual circumstances of a criminal case in a court proceeding. The principle of immediacy from the indicated point of view is considered, in particular, in relation to the principle of adversariality. These two principles organise examination of evidence in a court proceeding and ensure the resolution of the criminal case on the merits, but their functional role in this process is different. Accordingly, one can not reduce the principle of immediacy to one of the manifestations of adversariality. Examination of evidence is defined as a technology of working with evidence set by the tasks and conditions of the criminal trial stage. Its main content is the combination of verification and preliminary assessment of evidence implemented within a specific criminal procedure, taking into account its characteristics. The purpose, scope, nature and content of examination of evidence differ at different stages of the criminal procedure and in different criminal proceedings. The methodological nature of the principle of immediacy makes it possible to express its content through a formula in the form of a question series: who examines, why, where and how one examines, what is examined, and how the results of examination should be taken into account. The content of the principle of immediacy, with all its methodological significance, is revealed through the subject-target, technology and subject-matter aspects of immediacy. The subject-target aspect of the principle of immediacy gives answers to questions about who and why examines the evidence in the trial. It is expressed in the fact that examination of evidence for the purpose of resolving a criminal case on the merits is made by the court. The second aspect of the principle of immediacy answers the questions of where and how evidence is examined, and thus it can be defined as a technology aspect. The rules that form this aspect of the principle of immediacy are, firstly, the personal perception of evidence by the judges resolving the case on the merits, and, secondly, the involvement in the court proceeding of all participants who may challenge the evidence relevant to the case. The third, subject-matter, side of the principle of immediacy answers the questions of what is examined and how the results of examination should be taken into account. The subject matter of the principle of immediacy determines the duties of the court, firstly, to investigate the evidence directly related to the facts to be proved, that is, the evidence from the original sources, and, secondly, to base the sentence on the evidence that was examined in the court proceeding only.

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