Research On The Application Of Electronic Data In Criminal Proceedings

Electronic data is the "king of evidence" in criminal proceedings in the age of network information.Under the trend of the development of criminal network,the value of proof in criminal cases becomes more and more prominent.Since 2016,the "two high schools and one department" jointly issued the "provisions on the collection,extraction,examination and judgment of electronic data in handling criminal cases",it has been nearly five years since electronic data has been applied in practice under the guidance of institutional norms.How to use the content and spirit of the provisions in judicial practice,and whether the current legal norms still adapt to the new development of electronic data need to be clarified.Therefore,this paper takes the crime of destroying computer information system as a sample,combs the judgment documents and the corresponding live video of court trial of this kind of crime from 2016 to 2020,and makes an empirical study on the application of electronic data in judicial practice.This paper is divided into the following three parts:The first part describes the relevant theoretical basis of the application of electronic data in criminal proceedings.This part first clarifies the concept and extension of electronic data in criminal procedure,and the distinction between electronic data and electronic evidence,so as to define the research object of this paper.Then it discusses the special attributes of electronic data,and makes clear the necessity of the research on the application of electronic data,that is,to promote the improvement of electronic data rules,so as to give full play to the value of electronic data in criminal procedure practice.The second part makes an empirical study on the application of electronic data in criminal procedure.The statistical results show that: remote inspection,inspection and identification are the most commonly used methods of electronic data forensics;investigators and third-party organizations are the two main bodies of electronic data forensics,and more than half of the forensics are carried out by third-party organizations.Electronic data is mainly in print,work records and other written forms of proof,less to show the original carrier;electronic data is divided into documentary evidence,material evidence and other types of evidence,and there is no clear classification of electronic data.Electronic data cross examination revolves around written materials,and there are situations of "batch cross examination" and "package cross examination";the content of cross examination focuses on the authenticity of electronic data,while the integrity and relevance of electronic data are less.The court usually only gives the result of whether to accept the electronic data,and rarely gives the reasons for acceptance;the acceptance of electronic data is mostly judged from its manifestation,and is usually accompanied by other traditional evidence.The third part focuses on the practical problems existing in the application of electronic data,and analyzes its causes.Electronic data forensics,in the name of inquest and inspection,carries out criminal search,and lacks regulation of forensics behavior;the subject of electronic data forensics is faced with the situation that it is difficult to have both legal forensics authority and forensics technical specification.The traditional standard of original makes it difficult for electronic data to prove evidence by original;the standard of electronic data division is not unified,and the evidence classification lacks reasonable standard.The way of written cross examination makes the defense lack the premise and basis of effective cross examination;the content of cross examination ignores the integrity and relevance of electronic data,which affects the accurate judgment of electronic data evidence ability.The lack of judge’s ability to freely accept electronic data leads to insufficient reasoning of electronic data acceptance argument;the lack of scientific basis for acceptance,excessive reliance on electronic data forms for acceptance,and habitual weakening of electronic data proof.The fourth part puts forward the corresponding countermeasures or adjustment direction for the practical problems existing in the application of electronic data.Optimizing the rules of electronic data forensics,standardizing the behavior of electronic data proof,promoting the substantiation of electronic data cross examination,and constructing the mechanism of electronic data quantitative acceptance should be the direction to solve the practical problems of electronic data application.