§ Art. I-71Evidence

1. An election commission may use any of the following kinds of evidence to establish the
presence or absence of circumstances substantiating the demands or objections of the complainant, the
respondent, the party concerned, or of any other circumstances essential for the proper disposition of
the complaint:
 1) written documents and materials (including electronic ones) containing information on
 circumstances essential for proper disposition of the complaint;
 2) written explanations from electoral subjects, officials and employees of state executive
 bodies, state bodies of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, bodies of local self-
 government, enterprises, establishments, institutions, organizations, and respective law
 enforcement bodies, demanded and obtained by the election commission considering the
 complaint, including members thereof, in the exercise of the powers of the election
 commission;
 3) physical evidence;
 4) expert opinions provided in writing upon request of the election commission considering
 the complaint, the complainant or the respondent;

 

 5) audio and video materials.
 2. Evidence may be provided to the election commission by the complainant, the respondent or
the parties concerned. The election commission considering the complaint can demand the production
of additional evidence on its own initiative or at the request of the complainant, the respondent, or of a
party concerned.
 3. If the complainant, the respondent, or an interested person fails to provide evidence in support
of the facts being asserted, the election commission shall resolve the case based on available evidence.
 4. The election commission shall only accept evidence that relates to the complaint. The decision
of the election commission considering the complaint shall make mention of the dismissal of any
evidence irrelevant to the complaint or having no evidentiary value.
 5. If the law requires certain methods of proof to establish certain circumstances or facts, those
circumstances or facts may not be established using other methods.
 6. Written evidence shall be presented in original form or in the form of a duly certified copy. If
written evidence is presented in the form of a copy, the election commission shall be entitled to request
that the original document be produced or to demand on its own behalf the production of the original.
After considering the complaint, the election commission shall return the original document to the
owner thereof, upon his or her request, with a duly certified copy of the document remaining in the
complaint case file.
 7. An election commission shall evaluate the appropriateness and reliability of each piece of
evidence, as well as the sufficiency and consistency of the bulk of the evidence, in compliance with the
law. No evidence shall have a predetermined effect, except circumstances or facts established by a court
decision that has taken legal effect.