Digital technologies and evidence in the investigation of crimes against the fundamentals of national security of Ukraine: procedural problems and european standards
The article advances a system-integrated procedural and legal model for the use of digital technologies and evidence in criminal proceedings concerning offences against the foundations of Ukraine’s national security. It shows that the lack of an autonomous definition of “digital evidence” in the Cri...
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| Published in: | Аналітично-порівняльне правознавство Vol. 3; no. 5; pp. 239 - 255 |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
05.11.2025
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| ISSN: | 2788-6018, 2788-6018 |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | The article advances a system-integrated procedural and legal model for the use of digital technologies and evidence in criminal proceedings concerning offences against the foundations of Ukraine’s national security. It shows that the lack of an autonomous definition of “digital evidence” in the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), the underdevelopment of procedures for collection, authentication and preservation, as well as shortages of certified tools and trained personnel, generate legal uncertainty and risks of inadmissibility. Against the backdrop of international standards of the ECtHR (notably Benedik v. Slovenia, Uzun v. Germany) and the CJEU’s approach in Case C-670/22 (EncroChat), the article substantiates: (1) a unified admissibility test for electronic evidence–“provenance – disclosure – reproducibility”–and its operationalisation through a judicial benchbook with model reasoning; (2) a procedure for open-source digital forensics (OSINT-forensics) with requirements for capture, chain of custody, and audit trail; (3) an algorithm for judicial verification of coordinates (double projection; cross-validation with telecom logs/official statements; access logging) to verify geodata and cartographic materials. It proposes statutory incorporation of minimum standards for the procedural circulation of digital evidence in the CPC (including rules for inspecting web resources and handling data from cloud services/mobile apps), sub-statutory interagency digital-forensics instructions, and institutional mechanisms (accredited laboratories; a register of validated methods). It is demonstrated that systemic implementation of these measures enhances the probative reliability of digital materials, ensures compatibility with the “internal equivalence” principle in the cross-border circulation of electronic evidence, and strengthens guarantees of a fair trial. |
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| ISSN: | 2788-6018 2788-6018 |
| DOI: | 10.24144/2788-6018.2025.05.3.37 |