VIDEO RECORDING AS EVIDENCE OF VIOLENT CRIMES IN A CRIMINAL PROCEEDING AND ITS NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE JUDGE DURING ITS INVESTIGATION IN TRIAL
Authors: Barbash Daria 
Published: December 2023

According to statistical data dated 2022, in Ukraine the majority of indictments sent to court involve signs of violent crimes. Therefore, judges working in general jurisdiction courts are almost daily confronted with case materials containing evidence of violence perpetrated by the accused against the victims. During examination of video recordings as evidence of violent crimes in trial, judges are directly exposed to witnessing such acts of violence, which in turn has a negative impact on their psychological state. This negative influence manifests itself in traumatic or prolonged traumatic stress, which can transform into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Despite a considerable number of research papers devoted to the definition of violent crimes and the role of video recordings in the system of evidence in the current Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, it is necessary to admit that the legal literature does not sufficiently address the issue of the negative impact on judges of the examination of video evidence of violent crimes during court proceedings and the ways in which such impact manifests itself.

The Article Aim is to analyze the phenomenon of violent crime in Ukraine, the use of video recordings as evidence in criminal proceedings, negative effects endured by judges when examining video evidence of violent crimes, identifying signs of traumatic impact on judges during such examination, analyzing the role of psychological preparation for judge candidates during specialized training and for judges while advanced training at the National School of Judges of Ukraine, and presenting my own perspective on means of preventing and addressing stress among judges.

It has been demonstrated that close contact with human suffering during performance of judicial duties has a significant traumatic impact on judges, and examination of video recordings of acts of violence creates the highest emotional attachment to such violence in contrast to other types of evidence, thus undoubtedly contributing to workplace psychological trauma in the digital age. In turn, video recordings in the framework of the domestic criminal legislation are considered as documents, and therefore they must be examined by judges directly in trial, in compliance with provisions of the current Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

It has been established that tools for managing psychological state are provided to future judges during their professional psychological training at the National School of Judges of Ukraine and can be further supplemented through advanced training. However, considering that the issue of judges’ psychological well-being, their awareness of self-control of their own psychological state, stress management, and post-traumatic stress disorder currently receive insufficient attention, effective means of institutional support have been proposed: personal leave (days of “mental health”); provision of assistance through closed, confidential counseling; conducting trainings or seminars on types of traumatizing evidence; provision of education and sufficient information about signs and symptoms of traumatic stress, prolonged traumatic stress, and PTSD; developing healthy strategies for coping with such conditions; holding trainings for the staff to maintain a healthy work environment; developing an informal support network. In addition, emphasis is placed on personal responsibility of judges for their own psychological well-being. What is more, recommendations on acknowledging stress as an atypical phenomenon as well as methods for self-regulation of psychological state are provided.