THE PROCEDURAL STATUS OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS IN PRE-TRIAL PROCEEDINGS IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
Keywords:
electronic documents, digital evidence, pre-trial proceedings, criminal procedure, Uzbekistan, admissibility of evidence, investigative actions, electronic criminal case, digitalization of criminal justice, procedural statusAbstract
This article examines the procedural status of electronic documents in pre-trial proceedings under the criminal procedure law of the Republic of Uzbekistan, tracing the evolution of the legal framework from the original 1994 Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) to the landmark Law No. ЎРҚ-1003 of November 21, 2024. The study identifies the central doctrinal problem arising from the absence of a dedicated legislative category for electronic evidence in the pre-reform CCP, which compelled investigators to subsume digital materials within ill-adapted categories such as "physical evidence" or "other documents," thereby generating systemic uncertainty in pre-trial evidentiary practice. Drawing on legislative reform instruments, Supreme Court Plenum resolutions, and contemporary academic scholarship, the article analyses the admissibility criteria applicable to electronic documents — including authentication, chain of custody, and the mandatory involvement of a specialist during seizure and examination — as well as the procedural mechanisms governing their collection and annexation to the criminal case file at the pre-trial stage.
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