FIXATION OF ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE OBTAINED ON THE INTERNET IN CIVIL PROCEEDINGS

Abstract

The article considers and analyzes the essence of the basic categories concerning the concept of electronic evidence in civil proceedings. The legal analysis of electronic evidence types and sources of information is given and it is emphasized that this list is not exhaustive, as the rapid technical progress leads to the emergence of more and more new types of electronic evidence and sources of information. The methods and problems of recoding of electronic evidence obtained on the Internet, their review, research and evaluation for appropriateness and admissibility by the court are investigated. The assessment of the totality of evidence in terms of sufficiency is carried out by all subjects of proof on the basis of internal conviction. The attention is drawn to the problems that arise when proving the content of information obtained from the Internet. In particular, there may be difficulties in proving the date and time of creation of the original electronic proof, with the identification of the person who created a particular electronic proof, because the Internet can register any person and under any name or information can also be changed by the author, custodian or user. In this regard, a special emphasis is placed on the need of studying electronic documents in terms of their admissibility on four main elements, in particular: the proper subject of evidence collection; the proper method of gathering evidence; the appropriate source of evidence; the proper form of consolidation of information about the facts. In conclusion, the authors note that despite the positive changes in the use of electronic evidence in civil proceedings, there is no clear legal regulation of a number of important issues, as the review of electronic evidence, technical feasibility of reviewing electronic evidence, reliability and proper storage and transmission of electronic evidence to the court are considered as unresolved issues.