On Development Prospects of the Russian Criminal Proceeding in the Context of Digitalization

The aim of this article is to determine the development prospects of Russian criminal proceeding in the context of digitalization. On the basis of policy documents and statements of officials, the authors come to the conclusion that extensive institutional reforms are not in the plans of the digital transformation of state authorities and its activities nowadays. Using a dialectical approach, a sociological method, methods of comparative analysis, system and structural analysis and synthesis of social and legal phenomena, deductive and inductive conclusions, based on changes of criminal proceeding laws, on legal practice, the authors designate challenges for criminal proceeding, dictated by the modern level of the advances in technology. These challenges are: extension of opportunities to apply to law-enforcement authorities with a report of a crime, including using digital technology; changes in proof techniques; changes in forms of decision-making. The authors come to the conclusion that criminal proceeding in the digital era should be based on a new correlation of public and private interests. Digitalization is inherent in the growth of contradictions between investigative and adversarial elements for existing criminal proceeding. Digitalization should simplify and regulate proceeding on the case rather than make a person's access to justice more complicated. In proof techniques, the institution of criminal case based on recordkeeping as the main means of fixation of the investigator's activity should be conceptually denied. In the new theory of criminal procedural judicial evidence in the context of digital technology, standards should be reconsidered of evidence admissibility, of permission to get any digital information on the subject of a criminal case, which is not forbidden by law, and to present it to the court via telecommunication channels or electronically, which can make the rights of the parties equal in the determination of facts. However, the standard of admissibility of evidence must be preserved. Only information, received without violations of the constitutional rights of a person and other values protected by law, can be used for bringing charges and proving evidence before the court, and then - for bringing in a verdict. Basing on the analysis of the statistics and lawyers' opinions, the authors conclude that a criminal case, formed in the factual absence of adversarial sources at the stage of preliminary investigation, has an essential and decisive influence on the court's decision over a person's guilt in a crime, which compromises the sovereignty of the court. It is noted that, in future, it is important not only to preserve, but also to increase the focus of the institutional legal system of crime prevention on participants of criminal proceeding, their rights and freedoms. Measures are proposed on the preparation of the criminal proceeding model to digital transformation.

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