Some Societal Factors Impacting on the Potentialities of Electronic Evidence

Abstract

Electronic evidence is an important area of innovation, and inasmuch is characterized by strong and profound social dynamics. These dynamics can generate both opportunities and risks (if not managed or poorly managed), in terms of the functioning of the institutions of justice, the proper administration of justice for citizens and their rights, the representation of justice in public opinion, and so on. The aim of this paper is to present a panorama of some initial theoretical and empirical insights on this issue, from a sociological point of view. Our research tried to identify the types of actors that play a role in electronic evidence and its presence in judicial systems, as well as the obstacles and facilitating factors for the introduction of electronic evidence in courts.