Official burial place as a source of evidentiary information for exhumation proceedings

Introduction. According to part 3 of article 178 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, exhumation is carried out to remove a corpse from the place of burial, but the law does not directly specify the official nature of the place of burial. This circumstance gives some researchers the opportunity to expand the criteria of the place of exhumation. However, this approach contradicts the very essence of exhumation, as such a broad understanding of the burial place makes it impossible to define the boundaries of exhumation. The main condition for fixing such boundaries is the official place of burial. Methods: the methodological basis of the research is represented by comparative and system-structural analysis, study and synthesis of the literature, which were reflected in solving the stated research objective and tasks, namely in the synthesis of structural elements of investigative activity, analysis of the organisation of investigation at the initial stage, as well as the establishment of structural links between the elements of the system of interaction between the investigator and the body of enquiry. The authors applied the activity methodological approach and used general scientific methods of research (system-structural analysis, method of dialectical cognition). Results. Taking into account the high psychologically traumatising nature of such an investigative action, it is required to theoretically clarify what kind of information is really necessary for performing the exhumation of a corpse, and what kind of information is sufficient due to the available evidence. Poor quality of exhumation may lead to the question of re-exhumation of the corpse, which is highly undesirable. It is necessary to clarify at the theoretical level the specificity of certain provisions and reasons of exhumation, which distinguishes it from other investigative actions.