The Concept, Types and Rules of the Use of Technical Means in Criminal Proceedings

This article examines the concept of "technical means" in the framework of criminal proceedings, both in science and at the legislative level, as well as the types of technical means used in criminal proceedings (search tools, fixation devices, research methods, auxiliary methods, etc.), as well as the general and special conditions and rules of application of these means. The works of prominent specialists in the field of criminal procedure and forensic science on this topic were studied. The study examines the norms of criminal procedure legislation related to the use of technical means, including the Russian Federation's Code of Criminal Procedure and other federal laws. The methodological basis of the article is the general scientific and especially the complex of reasoning-related methods, including such methods as synthesis, analysis, deduction, induction, analogy, formal-legal method, method of interpretation of legal norms and other methods of research activity. As a result of their work, the authors conclude that there is no commonly accepted definition of "technical means" in Russian criminal procedure studies. Each author's definition has its own differences and peculiarities in defining what constitutes a technical means. At the same time, they proceed from the differences related to the purpose of such means and the conditions of their application. At the legislative level, there is no definition of technical means at all. The standing orders that regulate the rules and conditions for the use of these tools are "scattered" throughout the criminal procedure legislation and are not fully coordinated with each other, which is a problem. The types of technical means are also not defined by law, but the issue has been sufficiently developed in academic circles and researched in forensic science. Based on the foregoing, the author considers it appropriate to introduce a unified norm governing the institution of "technical means" into the criminal procedural legislation, which will contain a list of subjects entitled to use these technical means, rules and conditions for their use and other provisions.