ANALYSIS OF JUDICIAL PRACTICE REGARDING THE ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE OBTAINED AS A RESULT OF CONTROL OF DRUG CRIME

Abstract

The issues of combating drug crime are becoming increasingly relevant
due to the rapid increase in the volume of illegal drug trafficking in
Ukraine and around the world, the growing negative impact of drug
addiction on the interests of society and the state, and the constant
improvement of the means and methods of illegal activity in this area.
Crime control is currently one of the most effective tools for identifying
individuals who commit serious and especially serious criminal offenses
in the sphere of drug trafficking. The purpose of the article is to
summarize the judicial practice of determining the criteria for the
admissibility of evidence obtained during the control of drug crime.
The research methods were selected taking into account the outlined
goal and objectives, the specifics of the object andsubject of the
research. They are based on the general dialectical method of scientific
knowledge of real phenomena, as well as their connections with the
practical activities of law enforcement agencies and the court. The
special research methods are: the method of system analysis; system-
structural; comparative-legal; logical-legal. The main results of the
study, in particular, the scientific novelty, consist in the development
of approaches to determining the form of future control by the
prosecutor over the commission of a drug crime and analyzing how
procedural errors by the supervising prosecutor affect the
admissibility оf the evidence obtained. Furthermore, the research
identifies criteria for distinguishing between lawful control over the
commission of a drug crime and provocation of such offense.
These criteria are divided into procedural and substantive, with the
latter classified as absolute (unconditional) or indirect (conditional)
(with an explanation of each type). An algorithm for conducting
control over the commission of a drug crime are developed, which
allows ensuring the admissibility of evidence that will be obtained based
on its results. The indicated results have both theoretical (as a basis for
further research into the issues of using control over the commission
of a crime to combat the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs,
psychotropic substances and their analogues and precursors) and
practical significance ‒ for the use of the specified criteria and algorithm
by prosecutors, investigators and operational officers to ensure the
effectiveness of combating drug crime.