Criteria for evaluating electronic evidence in administrative proceedings

The concept of electronic evidence is one of the most fundamental categories in the administrative process. After all, the ability to use and evaluate them in the process of establishing the truth depends on the correct understanding of this concept. Evaluation of electronic evidence is a mental and procedural activity of the court and participants in an administrative case aimed at forming a final conclusion on the confirmation or refutation of the facts to be proved with the help of electronic evidence. The court’s activities in assessing electronic evidence include a number of specific steps and actions aimed at the correct resolution of the dispute in accordance with the principles of administrative proceedings. The current Code of Administrative Procedure of Ukraine provides for the procedure for the evaluation of evidence by the court, but to date, the scientific doctrine and practice do not address the question of what criteria for evaluating evidence should be applied to electronic evidence. The Guidelines “Electronic Evidence in Civil and Administrative Proceedings” adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on January 30, 2019, state that electronic evidence should be evaluated in the same way as other types of evidence, in particular with regard to its admissibility, authenticity, accuracy and integrity. Based on the analysis of the current legislation of Ukraine, the said Guidelines and case law, the author of the article reveals the essence of four key criteria of electronic evidence: reliability, relevance, admissibility, sufficiency, and additionally identifies such a criterion as ensuring the integrity of evidence, which includes preservation of the original electronic evidence and recording. The author formulates the definition of the concept of criteria for evaluation of electronic evidence, which is considered to be the mental and procedural activity of a court and participants to an administrative case aimed at forming a final conclusion on confirmation or refutation of the facts to be proved by means of electronic evidence. The author believes that a clear definition of the essence of the criteria for evaluation of electronic evidence is important for the formation of a new theory of electronic evidence evaluation and a new technology for practical implementation of the provisions of this theory.