IDENTIFICATION AS A TOOL FOR PROVING WAR CRIMES

Abstract

This scientific article is devoted to the peculiarities of using the identification method as a tool for proving war crimes. It is noted that Article 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the CPC of Ukraine) defines the range of objects (circumstances) that are subject to proof in criminal proceedings (time, place, method and other circumstances of committing a criminal offense, the guilt of the accused in committing a criminal offense, the form of guilt, the motive and purpose of committing a criminal offense, etc.). It is they who establish the circumstances by their reflections (traces), that is, in essence, they carry out identification within the limits in which they are necessary for the administration of justice and the solution of the tasks of operational-search/counterintelligence activities. In addition, in many cases it is necessary to establish the identity of other various objects (people by voice, appearance, traces of hands, feet, objects by their parts removed from the scene of the incident, signs of the area by certain signs/ landmarks, etc.). The place and role in the implementation of identification search of materials with the prospective use in proving war crimes of automated information systems and software products is highlighted, which: – allow checking individuals in order to establish the presence of pages in social networks, the Telegram network (including Telegram groups), phones, identification data, relatives and friends, the presence of information on placed ads, preferences, as well as search by photo; – provide the ability to check a person’s photo for the presence of information on the Internet (both social networks and open Internet pages, video hosting, etc.); – provide the opportunity to search for spatial and temporal causal relationships between events (death/ missile strike – situation), which are important for establishing circumstances that are subject to proof in criminal proceedings opened on the grounds of crimes provided for in Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine; – allow identifying servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation who were in places from which weapons of destruction were launched on the territory of Ukraine in violation of the norms of international humanitarian law. Proposals are formulated for further scientific research in this area.