Electronic document flow as evidence in civil proceeding: evaluation features and application problems

Due to the development of information technologies, electronic document flow is actively becoming a part of modern life, and the activity of courts is not an exception. Electronic documents are increasingly considered by courts as evidence in civil cases. Judicial practice faces certain problems when evaluating such evidence due to the insufficiency of legal regulation of such kind of evidence. The article examines the theoretical and practical aspects of the existence of an electronic document as a type of written evidence, attempts to reveal the essence of an electronic document, define its features as compared to a traditional written document, and analyzes the approaches to the definition of the concept of ‘electronic document’, which have developed in Russian legal science. The analysis of the practice in the application of an electronic document as evidence with regard to relevance, admissibility and adequacy is carried out. Certain problems which judges have to face when using an electronic document as evidence have been identified. The authors’ understanding of an electronic document is submitted, the framework of problems and gaps under current civil procedure legislation is defined, and methods of solution are proposed. The need to define an independent type of evidence – electronic evidence is substantiated, with it further being enshrined in the Civil Procedural Code of the Russian Federation, as well as to formalize in legislation the concept of an ‘electronic information medium’