Problems of Legal Regulation of the Use of Digital Technologies in Criminal Procedure in the Russian Federation in the Context of Implementing Its Principles

This article is devoted to issues of legal regulation of the use of digital technologies in criminal proceedings in the Russian Federation in the context of implementing its principles. The relevance of the research topic is due to the amendments made to the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation aimed at introducing digital technologies into criminal proceedings, as well as the active discussion in legal literature of the problems and prospects of digitalisation of criminal proceedings. The authors analysed the changes made to the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation over the last decade aimed at legalising the use of digital technologies in criminal proceedings and their compliance with the principles of criminal proceedings. The thesis on the need to reform the current criminal procedure legislation is confirmed by the results of an analysis of problems related to the application of certain provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, which allow for the use of digital technologies in the presentation of evidence, in particular, the specifics of recognising evidence obtained using digital technologies as admissible. The study concluded that digital technologies have a significant impact on the implementation of criminal procedure principles, which, in turn, necessitates the expansion and creation of new guarantees for the legality of criminal proceedings and the observance of the rights and legitimate interests of its participants. Taking this conclusion into account, proposals have been developed to improve existing criminal procedure rules in order to bring them into line with the modern realities of the digital transformation of society.