Criminal law protection of the right of a participant in legal proceedings to protect personal data (problems and prospects for their solution)

The article examines the issues of the current state and the problems of insufficient effectiveness of the criminal law fight against the unfair use of personal data about participants in legal proceedings (including participants in criminal proceedings). The illegal use of personal data may entail a violation of the interests of justice and other law-enforcement interests of the state, constitutional rights and legitimate interests of citizens and organizations. The initiative draft of the federal law “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation” is analyzed, aimed at improving existing mechanisms for combating criminal acts in the field of personal data circulation. This draft was prepared by the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation in accordance with paragraph 2 (a) of the List of Instructions from the President of the Russian Federation dated January 12, 2023. based on the results of the meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights on December 7, 2022. The author concludes that improving the effectiveness of preventing and suppressing illegal trafficking in personal data (including the use of such data for the purpose of committing crimes) cannot be ensured solely by strengthening the criminal protection of legitimate the interests of participants in the preliminary investigation of criminal cases, and not all categories of participants in the proceedings. To solve this problem, an integrated set of legal, organizational, technological measures and other interrelated measures is needed.