The use of evidence in criminal proceedings as a component of the evidetiary process

The article is devoted to elucidating the essence and content of the use of evidence, as well as to justifying the identification of such a category as a separate component of evidentiary process in criminal proceedings. It was found that despite the absence of the category "use of evidence” among the provisions of Part 2 of Art. 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the term is used by the legislator in a number of articles of the current CPC of Ukraine. The positions of domestic scientists regarding the essence of the use of evidence were analyzed. It was found that the majority of doctrinal definitions of this term boil down to the understanding of the use of evidence as the manipulation of it (evidence, their procedural sources, evidentiary information) for the performance of intermediate and final tasks (that is, the achievement of certain positive results) in criminal proceedings. Based on the study of the provisions of the current legislation and doctrinal sources, it was established that evidence is used by justifying, making, and implementing decisions in criminal proceedings. The following forms of evidence use are singled out: procedural decisions, decisions on submitting evidence to the court and substantiating legal positions with them, on submitting motions and complaints during the pre-trial investigation, tactical decisions of the prosecution and other subjects of evidence. The general mechanism of making the listed decisions and the place of use of evidence in the system of components of evidentiary activity are considered. The use of evidence is defined as a component of the evidentiary process, a set of logical and instrumental operations consisting in justifying with evidence (evidential information), making and implementing decisions by the subject of proof in order to fulfill their own tasks in criminal proceedings. Further research prospects in the analyzed field are related to the scientific and theoretical study of the essence, types and mechanism of decision­making in criminal proceedings as a form of evidence use.