Evidence in administrative proceedings - proof by audio-visual record, proof by the content of the website and other means of proof lacking an explicit regulation in the Code of Administrative Procedure

Abstract

Evidence is one of the most important parts of any administrative procedure. The Czech Administrative Procedure Code contains the basic legal regulation of evidence in administrative proceedings and a demonstrative list of evidence. The administrative authorities are therefore not limited in the proceedings to the explicitly stated means of proof. However, the fundamental problem is that the Administrative Procedure Code regulates the implementation of only those means of proof which it expressly mentions. The Administrative Procedure Code is completely silent in relation to other means of proof and the course of their implementation. Nevertheless, in many cases, administrative authorities also need to take other means of proof (not regulated by the Administrative Procedure Code), in particular proof by means of an audiovisual recording or proving the content of websites. The author will therefore focus on answering the questions that cause the greatest problems in this context in practice: “What rules must be followed in obtaining this evidence in order to be legal evidence? Under what conditions and by what procedure should the administrative authorities take this evidence? To what extent can analogy be followed in the implementation of this evidence? The answers to these questions will be demonstrated mainly in relation to the audiovisual evidence and the evidence of the content of the website. This is because of the evidence that is gaining in frequency and importance with regard to the development of modern society and information technology. Based on the analysis of the current administrative practice and case law, de lege ferenda proposals will also be formulated in relation to the current (non)regulation of this evidence in the Administrative Procedure Code.