Ural State Law University

Subject. The authors reveal the main groups of modern technologies that can be used to improve the effectiveness of investigative activities, to describe the ways of their penetration into forensic practice and to outline the value of information that can be obtained as a result of their application. The relevance of this work is due to the fact that scientific and technological progress affects all spheres of society, including law enforcement, in this regard, special attention today among the professional community deserve the issues of competent implementation of technical achievements in the practice of detection and investigation of crimes.The purpose of this study was to prove that the introduction of modern technologies only after the prior enshrinement of the possibility of their use in the law, is currently irrational.Such an approach is not conditioned by the existing rules and negatively affects the effectiveness of investigative activities.The methodology. The authors used the interdisciplinary approach, methods of analogy, analysis and synthesis.The main results. As a result of the study, four groups of technologies were identified: complexes aimed at automation; decision support systems; means of working with computer information; other technologies that increase the efficiency of traditional processes. In each group, specific technologies that are most in demand in today's practice are described. Based on this, the basic principles that can guide the introduction of new technologies in investigative activities are formulated: the presumption of free determination of technical means for the production of investigative actions; restriction of human rights only by judicial authorization; autonomy of decisions of an official; preservation of the value of information while maintaining its integrity.Conclusions. According to the results of the conducted research it is concluded that the reliance on the proposed principles, as well as the action by analogy with the considered specific models will allow investigators to successfully determine how to adapt the new technology to solve the problems of detection and investigation of crimes.

The article examines discretion as both a managerial and procedural principle that constitutes one of the key elements of the system of legal relations inherent in a state governed by the rule of law. Discretion is not limited, as is often assumed, to a mental operation performed by a public administrator or lawenforcement official when choosing one of the options permitted by legal norms. Rather, it is a fundamental principle that permeates the entire system of public administration and law enforcement in a rule-of-law state and forms an indispensable component of professional administrative, administrative-jurisdictional, and judicial activity. In conditions of regulatory incompleteness and heightened dynamism—particularly evident in extraordinary situations (pandemics, wildfire hazards threatening entire regions, large-scale terrorist acts, responses to military threats, climate-related disasters, etc.)—governance through absolutely precise normative prescriptions becomes impossible. Under such circumstances, discretion is an essential part of the mechanism that ensures flexibility and effectiveness of public administration. Various forms of this principle may be identified: from the use of discretionary powers when choosing between equivalent alternatives to the duty to give reasons for judicial and administrative decisions and to interpret norms containing evaluative concepts. The role of discretion is particularly significant in imposing administrative penalties and disciplinary sanctions and in emergency rule-making. It is important to recognize that discretion is not equivalent to arbitrariness; it is based on the duty of officials to adopt well-reasoned, rational, and fair decisions strictly within the framework of the law and constitutional principles. The Authors advocate recognising discretion as both an administrative-procedural and inter-branch principle, which may contribute to further systematisation of law-enforcement practice and to strengthening guarantees for the protection of citizens’ rights against abuses of power.

This study is a comprehensive review of English-language academic literature on donor anonymity in assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures. It systematically examines arguments for and against anonymity, explores the risks associated with de-anonymization, and analyzes the motivations of recipients and donors in choosing either anonymity or openness. Psychological aspects related to these decisions, as well as the consequences of concealing a donor’s identity, are also addressed. The review highlights how technological developments, particularly the increasing accessibility of genetic testing, are reshaping social and legal attitudes toward donor anonymity. Findings indicate that absolute anonymity is no longer feasible, a trend likely to drive many countries toward adopting the principle of openness. This shift necessitates careful review of mechanisms for informing donors (and, where applicable, recipients) while safeguarding their privacy. The study provides a foundation for future empirical research to confirm or challenge these conclusions and to formulate newresearch objectives. Additionally, by synthesizing current knowledge, this review offers valuable insights for legislative bodies, regulatory agencies, medical institutions, and other stakeholders involved in ART, supporting evidence-based policymaking and practice.

The article discusses the issue of the purposes of confiscation as another measure of a criminal law nature. The author formulates criteria that should correspond to the objectives of a particular criminal law institution. Such criteria include representativeness, specificity, and comprehensibility. Comprehensibility refers to the possibility of verifying whether an appropriate result of criminal legal action has been achieved. Using these criteria, the author comes to the conclusion that confiscation, as a different measure of criminal law, has different goals than punishment. Given that the achievement of the goal of restoring social justice based on the results of the implementation of confiscation regulations cannot be reliably established, the sole purpose of confiscation is proposed to be the prevention of new crimes (general and private prevention). General prevention is provided, among other things, through awareness by members of society of the possibility of punishment in the form of withdrawal and conversion to income.

The article is devoted to the analysis of changes and trends in the criminal legislation of Russia concerning crimes committed using information and telecommunication technologies (ICT). It is noted that with the increasing number of such crimes, there is a need to improve the legislative framework for the adequate prosecution of offenders, as well as to increase the level of social danger of these acts. The author pays attention to various changes in the criminal Code, in particular, the introduction of new articles that fix responsibility for illegal actions with personal data. Thus, Article 272.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes responsibility for the illegal use and dissemination of information with personal data. In the process of analysis, an attempt is made to classify crimes using ICT, which is important for understanding the entire system of criminal offenses in this area. In addition, the heterogeneity of legislative formulations is considered, which leads to difficulties in law enforcement and qualification of crimes. The author concludes that despite the difficulties associated with definitions and classifications, the author suggests a further trend towards including the use of ICT in crimes. Nevertheless, critically assessing the linking of this feature with the stages of preparation for a crime, it is emphasized that it is necessary to avoid unjustifiably increasing responsibility for acts committed without the use of ICT.

The article presents new facts of assistance not only from central authorities, but also from the Ural region to the western regions of the country liberated from the Nazi invaders at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War, as well as assistance in the opposite direction with agricultural products. The great interest and high level of competence of the decision-making bodies in this work are shown. From the directive documents it is clear how meticulously they approached the preparation of each decision and how strictly they controlled the implementation of the adopted documents. To write the article, as a rule, previously uninvolved in scientific circulation documents from the central union and regional archives were used.

One of the key directions in the development of the theory of constitutional judicial argumentation is the development of tools that can help to assess the quality of constitutional judicial argumentation and its effectiveness. Since argumentation serves a functional role in relation to the activities it supports, it is crucial to consider the purpose and features of constitutional norm control in this process. The paper examines the factors that necessitate the identification of specific criteria for evaluating constitutional judicial argumentation. Using the premise that argumentation should strengthen constitutional normativity, the author formulates methodological requirements for the process of forming constitutional discourse and identifies the following criteria for evaluating constitutional judicial argumentation: constitutional justification of assertions regarding the constitutionally appropriate; accuracy in diagnosing the current legal regulation; adequacy in describing and understanding the social context; acceptability of arguments for constitutional discourse; and completeness (exhaustiveness) of the argumentation. The study demonstrates that evaluation criteria for argumentation that take into account the specifics of constitutional norm control significantly reduce the risk of argumentative errors, as well as allowfor the identification of manipulations and incorrect argumentation, giving an opportunity to respond to them. This is particularly important given that in constitutional discourse, each thesis and the arguments presented in its support influence the definition of the boundaries of what is constitutionally appropriate, permissible, and prohibited.

The introduction of modern tools in civil proceedings, providing remote presence and realization of all procedural rights and obligations, suggests that the traditional form of participation of the prosecutor in civil proceedings is undergoing transformation. One of the key technologies that provide the most advanced possibility of participation in the process of proceedings in civil cases is web-conferencing or online meeting. A notable feature of this technology is the ability to participate in a court hearing “in click accessibility” from the comfort of one’s own home. The highlighted characteristics of this technology suggest that there are limited grounds for the prosecutor to apply to the court in defense of citizens and then participate in the court session. Wide opportunities for increasing the publicity and accessibility of justice with the use of the technology under consideration may have a downside, which should be outlined and the problematic points necessary to elaborate the possibility of prosecutor’s participation in civil proceedings in the ongoing and actively developing digitalization. The study aims to identify the nature and direction of the impact of online court technology on the role of the prosecutor applying to the court in defense of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of citizens. A key feature of this study is the application of the inductive method, which makes it possible to abstract from other information technologies used in the field of civil procedure. On the contrary, emphasis is placed on a specific technology in order to identify new opportunities and risks offered by the challenges of the new digital reality. In addition, the study used the formal-legal method, which manifested itself in the analysis of the relevant normative regulation, the logical method for the presentation and formation of the results of the conducted analysis. The following conclusions were made based on the results of the analysis: 1) web-conference (online hearing) has a significant impact on the principles of publicity, accessibility and equality; 2) web-conference (online hearing) allows the most sensitive segments of the population to remotely participate in a court hearing, controlling the quality of legal assistance provided by the prosecutor; 3) the optional nature of the use of web-conference (online hearing) does not justify the hypothesis of reducing the categories of citizens in defense of whose interests the prosecutor can appeal to the court; 4) the use of web conferencing (online sessions) increases the publicity of the activities of the prosecutor’s office due to the control by the material plaintiff over the course of the proceedings and the quality of legal assistance.

The article discusses some controversial issues of legislation and law enforcement practice in the field of anti-corruption. Based on the consideration of certain provisions of Federal Law No. 273-FZ dated December 25, 2008 “On Combating Corruption” and the established practice of its application in relation to municipal employees, the authors conclude that there is an unreasonably broad interpretation of the provisions of the above-mentioned legal act, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of the anti-corruption measures used, and also significantly complicates the formation of a full-fledged and qualified staff. municipal employees of local government bodies, that, in the context of the next reform of local self-government, may significantly undermine the presidential initiative to train and retain qualified personnel in the municipal service and increase its prestige among young people.

The paper examines the jurisdictional aspects of dispute resolution in the metaverse, a digital world whose key features include the use of immersive technologies (virtual reality); user representation through avatars; conducting transactions using blockchain; the existence of centralized and decentralized platforms; the availability of intangible assets and NFTs in commercial turnover. The author provides a classification of disputes that may arise in the metaverse, namely disputes between users and platform operators; disputes between users; disputes over intellectual property. In the first category, the author highlights legal conflicts related to virtual real estate, as well as disputes over the personal data of users of platforms whose operators cannot guarantee protection from hacker attacks. Regarding disputes between users, the author notes that many of them are related to the lack of any control in the metaverse over the provision of virtual services, the creation of digital assets and transactions. Turning to the question of applicable law and jurisdiction, the author points out that in most cases the relevant provisions are included in the user agreements of individual platforms and are not subject to change. The paper discusses three dispute resolution tools that arise in the metaverse: «traditional» — in state courts or in arbitration; «modified», where the rules of procedure are adapted to the specifics of virtual legal relations, and «decentralized» — in the framework of online dispute resolution, combining elements of blockchain, crowdsourcing and artificial intelligence.