Crimes in the Field of Professional Legal Assistance: Specific Features of the Subject of Proof
Abstract
Abstract. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of crimes in the field of professional legal assistance, focusing on the specific features of the subject of proof in criminal proceedings of this category. It highlights the particular nature of such criminal offenses as objects of forensic and criminal procedural research, taking into account their increased social danger due to their potential impact on the exercise of the right to defense, access to justice, and public trust in the legal profession. The study summarizes doctrinal approaches to understanding the subject of proof as a system of legally significant circumstances defined in Article 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and substantiates the need for its individualization depending on the disposition of the relevant provision of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and the professional context in which the act is committed. A classification of crimes in the field of professional legal assistance is proposed, distinguishing subgroups that differ in terms of the subject composition, the method of encroachment, and the mechanism of harm. It is demonstrated how these differences affect the limits of proof and the admissibility of evidence. It is proved that the subject of proof in such proceedings has a complex and multi-level character. In the article formulates their own structural model of the subject of proof for this category of criminal proceedings, including the following main blocks: circumstances of the event; circumstances determining the special professional status of the subject; circumstances characterizing the subjective element; circumstances indicating procedural violations and their materiality; circumstances relating to harm and the causal link, as well as forensically significant information guiding the investigation. It is concluded that the proposed model contributes to enhancing the completeness and quality of proof, optimizing investigative planning, and developing practice-oriented recommendations while ensuring a balance between the inevitability of liability and the guarantees of independence of professional legal activity.
Keywords: legal assistance; subject of proof; right to defense; defense counsel; interference with professional activity.
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References
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