The dissertation is the first qualifying thesis in Ukraine, which has developed and provided rationale for the concept of international standards of proof in the criminal procedure of Ukraine.
The dissertation improves the doctrinal definition of the concept of standards of proof, establishes their place within the conceptual and categorical framework of the theory of criminal procedural proof and outlines their system. The dissertation outlines the system and essence of the standards of proof in the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand on the basis of works of domestic and foreign scholars, as well as the legislation of the Anglo-Saxon legal system and the established Case law.
The essence of international standards of proof is revealed by defining their features: objectivity, social conditionality, dynamism, consistency and universality. The author provides his own definition of the concept of international standards of proof, which is supposed to be referred to as a system of rules, stated in the international treaties, ratified by Ukraine, and formed in practice of international judicial institutions, whose jurisdiction is recognized by Ukraine, to let the subject of proof form a sufficient set of appropriate, admissible and reliable evidence and achieve on the basis of their evaluation the level of confidence essential to make an appropriate procedural decision. The author develops his own concept of international standards of proof in criminal proceedings.
The criteria for classification of international standards of proof are singled out, their types are defined and characterized. The expediency of classification of international standards of proof on the basis of the criterion of their functional purpose is substantiated, according to which it has been proposed to distinguish two groups of such standards: 1) standards for the formation of sufficient set of appropriate, admissible and reliable evidence, which comprise the standards for the formation of appropriate evidence, the standards for the formation of admissible evidence, the standards for the formation of reliable evidence, and the standards for the formation of a sufficient set of evidence; 2) standards for the formation of the level of conviction necessary for the adoption of the relevant procedural decision, which include the standards of proof «sufficient grounds», «reasonable suspicion» and «beyond a reasonable doubt».
International standards for the formation of appropriate evidence have been generalized. The level of statutory determination of the specified standards of proof in the domestic criminal procedural law and their application in the practice of the national courts has been examined.
The international standards of the formation of admissible evidence have been generalized. Doctrinal approaches to implementing international standards for the formation of the admissible evidence in the domestic criminal procedural law have been developed. Based on the analysis of the norms of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and judicial practice, the standards of admissibility of hearsay testimonies are generalized. Taking into account the practice of the Supreme Court, the range of aspects to be taken into account by the courts in deciding on the admissibility/ inadmissibility of evidence has been identified.
International standards for the formation of reliable evidence are summarized. Taking into account the norms of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, a number of sufficient balancing factors have been identified, including procedural guarantees for the defense, which are based on the standards of use of testimony of absent witnesses and hearsay testimony.
The content of the international standard of proof «sufficient grounds» is revealed and its doctrinal definition is improved by generalizing the grounds developed in the practice of the ECHR, sufficient for national courts to make a decision about the arrest, keeping in custody and extension of keeping in custody, and the circumstances confirming their existence. Theoretical approaches to determining the scope of the implementation of the standard of proof «sufficient grounds» have been further developed.
The content of the international standard of proof «beyond a reasonable doubt» has been revealed and the expediency of its statutory determination in the domestic criminal procedural law and its application in the practice of national courts is additionally substantiated. The doctrinal definition of the standard of proof «beyond a reasonable doubt» has been improved by taking into account its inherent features and it has been proposed to expand its scope by using evidence in the evaluation to determine the accuracy of all circumstances to be proved in criminal proceedings.
Factually substantiated proposals aimed at improving the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine taking into account international standards of proof have been developed.
