Legitimacy and unification in criminal proceedings: from procedural document forms to the electronic criminal case

Introduction: the article analyzes the significance of introducing the electronic criminal case for ensuring the legitimacy of criminal proceedings and the impact of such introduction on the unification of criminal procedure forms of different states in the new digital reality. The purpose: based on Russia’s historical experience of using procedural documents in criminal proceedings and taking into account the results of introducing electronic criminal cases in a number of modern foreign countries, this article aims to demonstrate the impact of applying digital technologies on the legitimacy and unification of criminal proceedings. Methods: historical method, comparative legal method, empirical method of description and interpretation; theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic; specific scientific methods such as the legal-dogmatic method and the method of legal norms interpretation. Results: the authors have analyzed the development of criminal procedure legislation and law enforcement practice in Russian and foreign countries. The study shows that the use of procedural document forms and electronic criminal cases can ensure the standardization and legitimacy of criminal proceedings provided that their content meets the requirements of law and is free from excessive details. The unifying effect of the electronic criminal case on criminal proceedings in states belonging to different legal families can be observed in the arising need to further develop competitiveness in pre-trial proceedings in Russia and to ensure access to justice. Conclusions: to adapt Russian criminal proceedings to the new digital reality and introduce the electronic criminal case, it is necessary to transform the pre-trial stages as follows: to introduce a new approach to pre-trial proceedings as to a public service aimed at providing citizens with access to justice; to grant unauthorized participants the right to file a petition to the court for depositing evidence, for undertaking measures to satisfy a claim, etc.; to vest the prosecutor with the right to initiate, substantiate and subsequently support an accusation in court; to create a single digital platform for electronic interaction of public authorities and officials among themselves and with citizens with the provision of digital equality for all participants.