Issues Of Electronic Evidence Preservation

The Code of Criminal Procedure amendment of2012defined electronic data as evidence in48(2) for the first time. This provision ended the long-standing argument about the prove effectiveness and legal positioning of electronic evidence, electronic data got its lawful status as evidence. As a combination of technology and legal, electronic evidence has attracted the eyes of evidence law experts and become the darling of the evidence jurists since the day it was born. With the development of science and technology and the popularization of computer technology, E-commerce and e-government activities become more and more. These changes undoubtedly bring great convenience to our lives, but you have to admit that these changes bring great convenience to us as well as the breeding ground for some new disputes and criminal activities. And a large part of the evidence relied upon by the litigation trials are electronic data of these disputes and criminal activities. It is particularly necessary to carry out in-depth discussion of electronic evidence in this context. The preservation of electronic evidence is an important aspect of the study of electronic evidence. Due to its unique nature, electronic evidence has both connections and differences with traditional evidence in preservation aspects. How to grasp these relations and differences is the key to deal with the preservation of electronic evidence.This paper first introduces the concepts and features of electronic evidence. The electronic evidence is divided into different types in accordance with different standards. The electronic evidence preservation and the importance of the preservation of electronic evidence are elicited through analysis of electronic evidence。Electronic evidence can easily be artificially tampering or destruction because of its verticality. Therefore, in the course of the proceedings, it is important to preserve electronic evidence in a timely manner. The preservation of electronic evidence needs to conform to certain principles. These principles are the premise of preservation operation. There are two methods to preserve electronic evidence-the conventional method and special method. Conventional preservation method is similar to preservation of traditional evidence. Special preservation methods include network notary preservation, management of electronic files and technical seizure. Electronic evidence is a product of the development of science and technology, so a variety of information technology will be involved in the preservation process. The paper describes four electronic evidence preservation techniques, data hiding techniques, data encryption technology, digital signatures and digital time-stamping technology, digital abstract technology. The application of these technologies play an important role in the original and integrity to ensure that electronic evidence. As electronic devices are attached to electronic evidence are usually communal, even private, information related to the privacy or public interest may exist. It is easy to infringe on citizens’ rights and privacy in the electronic evidence preservation.Therefore preservation of electronic evidence must be limited to the strict procedures. These procedural issues including start of preservation,preservation of application conditions, the preservation of a court of competent jurisdiction, the review of an application for preservation, as well as electronic preservation procedural principles. At last, several problems exist in the current electronic evidence preservation are analyzed and ways to solve these problems are proposed.