OPEN DATA AS A SOURCE OF ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

The article discusses the use of open data as evidence in criminal procedure in the context of digitalization of justice. The legal basis for the formation of electronic documents in Ukraine, their essence and legal foundations are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the study of the essence of such a type of documented information that circulates in the vastness of cyber-physical space as open data. The International Open Data Charter defines open data as public digital data with technical and regulatory characteristics that can be freely used, reused, and disseminated by anyone, anywhere, at any time. Open access information published by information administrators (legal entities) for public needs, or by consumers of services (individuals or legal entities) for public or private needs, is usually obtained from the Internet as a communication medium and contains data created by users and machines, in particular, documents, images, videos and audio recordings on websites and platforms for information exchange, data published by public authorities, etc. Such information can be observed, purchased, or requested by any member of the public without requiring special legal status or unauthorized access. The peculiarity of such information is that administrators are obliged to publish it on the unified state web portal of open data and on their websites. Characterizing information from closed sources, it should be noted that such information is information with limited access or access protected by law, but which can be obtained legally through private channels. For example, personal data of an individual that is classified as confidential information, but published on social media platforms on the Internet by a personal data carrier in accordance with the rules for using the service in the public domain (for example, Facebook). They become publicly available information to third parties, so open data that does not interfere with the privacy of a person. The only issue that experts pay attention to is the need to make sure that such data is made public with the consent of its owner, and is not the result of hacking, leakage of information, or its publication by a third party without appropriate permissions (for example, copyright). In order for an electronic document obtained from open sources to have evidentiary value, it needs to combine the form of information fixation (material object, information carrier and its features) and its content (information, information that can be used as evidence). It is undeniable that the development of computer and Internet technologies, a more digitized world open up new opportunities not only for criminals, but also for law enforcement agencies. Today, investigators can collect data on potential human rights violations through publicly available sources such as videos and photographs, other material uploaded to the Internet, and social media posts. In this aspect, the digital methodology for establishing facts of legal significance, even in real time, equips law enforcement officers with new opportunities to conduct online investigations of crimes that are fully or partially based on publicly available information.