According to the CPC, material evidence is objects without a soul that were used as a tool in the commission of an unlawful act. Among the evidence can be reckoned all that on which there were obvious, correctly interpreted traces of the deed. We can also attribute to this category those items that participated in assaults that contradict established laws. This may be values, property, financial reserves that the subject received during the commission of an illegal act and so on. It is necessary to classify as evidence all that can be used as a means to detect misconduct and to reveal the exact circumstances of the perfect.
General view
In relation to the Code of Criminal Procedure, material evidence of a crime is described in the first part of the article, published under number 81. Here you can find how the definition of objects, features, as well as rules, on the basis of compliance with which a particular thing can be assigned to this category.
At present, the described group is considered to be objects used as tools in the commission of unlawful acts. Material evidence in criminal law is a variety of products, things used at the stage of preparation of an unlawful act or in the course of its commission, as well as everything that the criminal resorted to to hide from the public the fact of the committed. Often, items used as weapons appear as evidence, including those created specifically in the form of tools. These include fake documents, counterfeit banknotes, miscellaneous property, vehicles used for bribery, valuables used to break into products, etc.
Looking from the other side
Material evidence in criminal law is also all those objects that have traces of a criminal act. Among these, it is customary to include material displays. These may be traces of machines, limbs used to break objects. Mappings should be on the surface of the product that is classified as evidence in the particular jurisdictional case in question. They arise at the stage of preparation for the commission of an offense, in the process, or when trying to hide what happened from others. Among the traces it is customary to classify a variety of substances. They can be of biological origin (blood), chemical (paints, varnishes) and natural (soil).
Objects and Acts
Often, recognition as material evidence is based on the fact that the unlawful act is directed. If a person who committed such an act had the goal of interacting with a certain product, property, it can be safely called evidence in the framework of the case under study. Also considered is the victim of the actions of the criminal, stolen property. Often such objects are transport, documentation, banknotes, etc.
Particular attention in the decision on material evidence is given to the values, finances, property that the criminal acquired as a result of his jurisdictional action. They consider not only what a person directly received from the victim, but also acquired dishonestly. For example, if a certain individual stole money and bought a house on it, then this structure becomes material evidence.If the acquisition of a certain object is based on the possibilities obtained through bribes, drug trafficking and other types of acts prohibited by law, it may take place in the case as evidence of guilt.
List not exhausted
The listed categories are basic, most often taking place in criminal proceedings in court. Only the list does not end with them. Often the inclusion of material evidence involves interaction with such objects that reflect the activities of the criminal.
Considering the examples, it is worth mentioning the narcotic goods that are produced by the offender on their own. They can be classified as material evidence. Weapons and fake products, as well as various objects that were found at the place of the commission of the criminal act, are included here. At the same time, other material evidences are those that cannot be classified as tools and objects of misconduct.
How to get?
The current laws of our country have established a clear procedure: material evidence should only be included in the case if it was discovered, seized at the scene of the incident, from a person who was suspected of, or from the accused. This includes items that were obtained during the study of a house or other premises associated with the event or its participants. Testimony at the on-site verification of the deed may give additional material evidence.
The legislation restricts the procedure for introducing the case. Any item at the request of the participant cannot become a material evidence. To acquire this status, the preliminary inquiry officer must conduct a thorough inspection, accompanied by a protocol in the prescribed form. If the assessment of material evidence (potential) allows you to reasonably adopt a decision on the belonging of objects to this category, then it becomes possible to take into account objects for further business in a court of law.
How to store?
The laws clearly regulate the handling of documents, material evidence, including ensuring the safety of objects. Normally, this should happen before the sentence comes into force. If the decision has been appealed, you will have to save items of evidence until the deadlines for this action. If a determination has been issued by virtue of which the investigation is terminated, material evidence is not required to be stored longer. If the case is transferred, along with it it is necessary to provide the new responsible person and all material evidence.
Sometimes the court is forced to resolve disputes related to property values that are being investigated as evidence in the framework of the investigation. Paperwork can be organized in the form of civil. Material evidence in such a situation should be stored in accordance with the generally accepted procedure until it becomes official, the final decision on the contentious issue adopted by the court has entered into full force.
Not everything is so clear
Since the documents and the material evidence related to them are quite diverse, and the circumstances of the case themselves differ significantly from time to time, material evidence may not always be kept at the instance conducting the case. Sometimes the reason is the size and bulkiness of objects. Other products can be a source of danger to human health and even life. There are other reasons limiting the storage of material evidence. For such a case, the law provides for several additional interaction strategies.
The simplest option mentioned in the official procedure for recording material evidence is photographing and recording on video. If possible, the object is sealed for subsequent storage in a place selected by an official of the law enforcement agency.Documentation confirming exactly where the object is located is attached to the shared file with the case for the case in question. If possible, it is necessary to include samples in the case file. Choose the amount that allows you to conduct a comparative study, if you suddenly need such an event.
Important feature
Sometimes material evidence in a case is a batch of certain products. Long-term storage of them can be difficult or associated with considerable costs. If the financial expenses for creating the conditions in which the product will be stored are comparable with the price of the goods, it is allowed to send the products to the owner. At the same time, the property is given for safekeeping, which is signed by official paper.
Occasionally, material evidence in a case can be returned to the owner. This is possible only if there is evidence that demonstrates that such an act will not interfere with the investigation and proof of the case under consideration.
Do not save!
In some cases, material evidence (the documents in the case must contain the rationale for such a decision) are considered impossible to store, and all the above methods in a particular case also cannot be applied. In such a situation, the owner is asked for consent, an expert assessment of the party is carried out. In the absence of coordination, a court order can be dispensed with. Products are sent to sales. The procedure is declared by a special government decision issued in 2012.
Financial resources obtained in the course of such an operation must be transferred to a deposit of a state authority, which decided that the products should be withdrawn. It should be noted that the list of items sold and the list of items to be seized and sold must match.
Difficult case
Sometimes material evidence is a large batch of products, including those that deteriorate in a short time or grow old morally with high speed. If the property held as a material evidence belongs to this category or its storage is fraught with considerable costs that are disproportionate to the price of the product, in addition to the option of sending for safekeeping, you can decide on destruction. This is possible if the commission decided: the products became unusable. But for this procedure, you must obtain the consent of the rightful owner.
If the material evidence in the case is the products that were illegally discovered in circulation, that is, the items, the safety of which can harm the environment, or people in contact with the products, substances, then at the end of the research work the products are sent to the responsible instance for processing. The court may decide on the need for destruction. A small sample, sufficient in volume for comparative study, should be retained and attached to other materials in the framework of the proceedings in question. If necessary, the court adheres to such a policy of action with drugs, ethyl alcohol, drugs from the psychotropic category, precursors, plants, which include compounds with such an effect.
Valuable and necessary
In a number of cases in the case, material evidence is money, property, values. If the defendant received such as part of illegal activities, criminal activity, objects and / or financial masses should be arrested. Similarly, all income received through the specified category of material evidence is subject to arrest. But if the values and / or money supply were seized during the investigation, examined and studied by other methods, but were not involved in the case, then there are several options for the court:
- objects can be transferred to save the financial department, which decided to seize values;
- referral to a credit financial institution, banking structure is allowed;
- it is possible to ensure safety at work, but if there is a value for it, individual characteristics of individual items;
- the property can be returned to the owner, if it is not damage to clarify the truth in the case.
And we have everything modern
Recently, more and more often material evidence in the case is data carriers in electronic format. If those became material evidence in the framework of the criminal proceedings, it is necessary to seal the product and provide for it such storage conditions when outsiders cannot gain access and familiarize themselves with the contents. It is important to guarantee the safety of the subject and the data recorded on it. In some cases, it is allowed to return the evidence to the owner, if the authority responsible for the inquiry has already investigated the item and carried out all the required actions. It is assessed whether such a return will not cause damage to the formation of evidence.
Particular attention is paid to the material evidence of this category in the first paragraph of the second part of the 82nd article of the CPC. It describes situations where the media is not possible to return to the owner. In this case, certain categories of data are subject to copying. The process is organized with the participation of witnesses. It is necessary to make copies only in the bodies responsible for the investigation or directly in the court. Thus, only data that contains important information can be propagated according to the request of the owner of the medium. The copying process itself should be organized subject to conditions that do not allow the loss and / or change of information stored by the carrier.
Everything is official
When the files were copied to a new medium, such is transferred to the person who has the rights to the seized item. The process of copying and the fact of transferring information on a new medium is officially documented. The protocol is drawn up in a standard form, all persons who participated in the process are registered in it, signatures and seals are affixed, confirming the correctness of the event.
In some cases, copying information is not possible. Usually this applies to situations when such an act can cause delays, obstacles to the investigation.
How will it all end?
What to do with material evidence is decided by the court. A decision on this is taken at the time when the verdict is passed on the case in question and a decision is made to terminate the process. All possible ways and options are listed in the CPC. The third part of article 81 is devoted to this.
If the instrument of crime acts as material evidence, it must either be destroyed or deposited with the responsible state institution. If these are objects that are prohibited for circulation within our country, you should also send them to the organization responsible for working with such objects, or destroy them. Items that have no value, but become the purpose of the petition of an interested person or organization, can be transferred in order to satisfy this appeal. If none of the parties claimed the property, it should be destroyed. But without fail, you will have to return to the rightful owner the values, financial masses and other property that was obtained by the criminal during the commission of illegal acts. This rule applies to income from activities based on illegally obtained money or property. In other cases, all values are confiscated.
Everything has its place
If items produced by light industry that went to court as evidence of illicit trafficking passed as evidence, they should be destroyed.This requirement applies only to goods referred to in government regulation under the number 180, which entered into force in 2014.
If documentation took place as material evidence, such is stored in a criminal case for as long as it is necessary to store it itself. If there is a request from an interested party, the court has the right to satisfy it and send documents to this person.
Concluding the consideration of the issue
Items that were seized as part of the proceedings before the transfer to the court must be returned to the owners. It should be remembered that the first paragraph of the sixth part of the above article of the Code of Criminal Procedure indicates the condition for observing reasonable deadlines. Electronic data carriers and documentation are also subject to return, if they have not become material evidence in the case.
All other items classified as material evidence must be sent to the owners at the end of the paperwork. If it is not possible to establish such, the items become state property. If there are disputes regarding the right to own certain property, a solution should be found in civil proceedings.
Arbitration: some features
Like clerical work in a criminal court, the arbitration court also needs material evidence to adequately address the situation and make a fair decision in the case. As evidence, various evidence related to the controversial situation is considered. These may be presented by all participants in the process in order to defend their interests and / or rights. The evidence relating to the object of the proceedings on the basis of the location, external features, qualities and other signs, from which the circumstances of the case can be clarified, are acts of evidence.
The study of material evidence is the responsibility of the court. The process takes place as part of a dispute. Its order is strictly determined by the legislation. It is customary to talk about three types of material evidence, the classification of which is based on the source, the process of formation and the presence of a logical connection with the circumstances of the situation in question.