THE CONCEPT OF DIGITAL FORENSICS AND ITS ROLE IN ENSURING THE RULE OF LAW
Keywords:
digital forensics, digital evidence, rule of law, cybercrime, criminal procedure law, forensic examination, cybersecurity strategy.Abstract
This thesis examines the concept of digital forensics, its place within the system of forensic science, and its role in ensuring the rule of law. The research employs dialectical, historical-legal, comparative-legal, and systemic-structural methods. For the first time in national jurisprudence, the official definition of digital forensics provided in the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan is analyzed in comparison with international doctrine. Special attention is paid to the four-dimensional role of digital forensics in ensuring the rule of law: quality of evidence, combating cybercrime, prevention of judicial errors, and trust in the justice system. The institute of digital evidence introduced into the Criminal Procedure Code in 2024, together with the strategic acts adopted in 2025–2026 — Presidential Decree PF-38, Cabinet Resolution No. 479, Presidential Resolution PQ-229 — provide the basis for analyzing the legal and institutional foundations of the field. The findings serve to substantiate the rule-of-law direction of the "Uzbekistan-2030" strategy from a scientific and legal perspective.
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