SOME ISSUES OF OBSERVING THE SECRECY OF PRIVATE COMMUNICATION IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

Abstract

The article pays attention to the issue of maintaining the secrecy of private communication during criminal proceedings and operative investigation activities. An analysis of the current legislation and the practice of implementing the procedures defined by the criminal procedural law, which involve interference in private communication, was carried out, as well as the criteria for the balance between the observance of human rights and freedoms and the achievement of the tasks set in criminal proceedings were outlined. It was concluded that some issues are not settled and there is a contradictory practice that requires a response from both the legislative and judicial authorities. In view of the requirements of the legislation regarding the guarantees of the right to private communication, it is stated that for access by an investigator or prosecutor (or any other official within the limits of legal authority) to information contained on any means of electronic communication, the consent of their owner is necessary or voluntary or court permission obtained on the basis and procedure established by law. The need to respect the right to private communication requires the creation of such conditions (legal regulation and law enforcement) that would minimize the ambiguity of understanding and uncertainty regarding the limits and results of the behavior of the participants of such legal relations. In this sense, an employee of an operational unit, an investigator, a prosecutor or a judge must have clear criteria for the legality of their own actions and decisions, which on the one hand prevent arbitrary interference in the personal sphere and ensure the guarantee of the rights of a suspect or accused person, and on the other – are effective measures to combat crime and bringing guilty persons to justice.