Transparency of interim evidence assessment as a necessary condition for ensuring adversarial principle in civil proceedings

Aim. The study aimed to substantiate the need to ensure transparency of the interim assessment of evidence performed by the court. This work criticizes the approach that allows discretion of the court when deciding whether to offer parties to the case to submit additional evidence. The arguments given by supporters of the passive role of the court in the process of assessing evidence are recognized as erroneous, since a public preliminary assessment of the reliability and sufficiency of evidence will not lead to a violation of the adversarial principle, but on the contrary, will provide conditions for its most complete implementation, will contribute to a comprehensive, complete and correct clarification of the case actual circumstances.

Conclusions. When considering a civil dispute, it is the court that should set the vector of evidentiary activity, determine the directions of collecting, examining and assessing evidence by disclosing the results of their interim assessment. The work proposes to amend the procedural legislation, namely to establish the court’s obligation to offer persons participating in the case to submit additional evidence if there are doubts about its reliability and (or) sufficiency.