Participation of a specialist in the investigation of electronic evidence during judicial proceedings

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the specialist's participation in the examination of electronic evidence at the trial stage of criminal cases. The purpose of the work is to define the role of the specialist as a subject possessing special knowledge and to identify areas of their activity that contribute to ensuring the completeness and reliability of the examination of electronic information at the judicial stages of criminal proceedings. The subject of this work is the legal status and practical aspects of the specialist's participation in the examination of electronic evidence in criminal proceedings. The object of the study is the criminal procedural legal relations arising in connection with the participation of the specialist in the examination of electronic evidence at the trial stage. Within the framework of the study, an analysis of the current criminal procedural legislation is conducted, and proposals aimed at improving legal regulation are formulated. The article employs general scientific dialectical methods of cognition, a formal legal method for analyzing the norms of criminal procedural legislation regarding the participation of specialists in criminal proceedings, as well as evidence and proof. Logical methods (induction, deduction, analysis, and synthesis) are applied to generalize scientific recommendations and law enforcement practices related to the topic of the work. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive analysis of the procedural status of the specialist as a person assisting the court and the parties during the examination of electronic evidence. The article discusses the functions of the specialist, which are explicitly provided for by criminal procedural legislation, and reveals the peculiarities of their implementation in the context of working with electronic information. The main conclusion of the conducted research is the identification of new forms of the specialist's participation, which are determined by the specifics of electronic evidence and have not received normative consolidation but are promising in terms of the development of criminal proceedings in the context of digitalization. These include copying and fixing the properties of copied electronic data, identifying signs of their falsification (such as "deepfakes"), as well as eliminating technical malfunctions that hinder the proper examination of electronic evidence in court. The proposed functions of the specialist could help reduce the risks of loss or distortion of electronic evidence and ensure the compliance of procedural rights of participants to present and examine evidence. The implementation of these forms of the specialist's participation is possible through amendments to Article 58 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation aimed at expanding the list of their procedural functions.