Abstract
In the context of rapid digitalization of social relations, legal systems, including criminal justice, are undergoing significant structural and functional transformation. In recent years, many countries have demonstrated a shift from the traditional paper-based form of criminal proceedings to electronic formats. In this regard, the emergence of the “electronic criminal case” institution has become one of the key elements of the new digital paradigm of criminal procedure. The purpose of this study is to analyze the legal nature of the electronic criminal case institution in the context of the digital transformation of criminal proceedings and to determine its role within the criminal justice system. The research employs dialectical, system-structural, comparative legal, and analytical methods. The study identifies the main legal characteristics of electronic criminal proceedings and highlights their differences from the traditional form of criminal procedure. Particular attention is paid to the formation of electronic procedural documents, the legal status of digital evidence, and the specific features of procedural actions carried out through information systems. The findings indicate that the electronic criminal case is gradually emerging as an independent institutional element of modern criminal procedure. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the theoretical substantiation of the legal nature of the “electronic criminal case” institution within the framework of the digital transformation of criminal procedure, as well as in the development of proposals aimed at improving the criminal procedural legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan based on international experience. The results of the study have both theoretical and practical significance for further development of digital criminal justice and improvement of legal regulation of electronic criminal proceedings.