Electronic Evidence in Arbitral Procedure

The purpose of this graduate paper is considering the legal status of electronic evidence in arbitral procedure in Russia in order to systematize and identify the opportunity of its’ validation. The main objectives of the paper are: (a) the search of the opportunity for usage of electronic evidence under Russian law; (b) identifying the differences between the concepts of "electronic document" and "electronic evidence"; (c) the identification of special criteria for the evaluation of electronic evidence; (d) determining the advantages and disadvantages of existing methods of providing electronic evidence; (e) analysis and identification of the main types of electronic evidence in court practice. This paper consists of seven parts: the introduction, four chapters, conclusion and the list of bibliography and other information sources. The first chapter provides approaches to the definition of electronic evidence and an electronic document, the legal regulation of electronic evidence under Russian law, the possibility of attributing digital evidence to written evidence and contains a classification of electronic evidence. This chapter ends with information of Russian electronic justice - which development made it possible to provide documents to court in electronic form. The second chapter examines the approaches of arbitral courts to the evaluation and admission of digital evidence, specifies the features of assessing reliability, relevance and admissibility. The third chapter considers such ways of preserving facts of their use as evidence, such as contractual security measures, notarial provision, judicial interim measures. The last chapter discloses the problems arising while submitting to court specific types of electronic evidence, such as screenshots and sites on the Internet, payment orders in electronic form, correspondence through e-mail and messengers.