Abstract:
What happens if a criminal evidence has been obtained in
violation of law or with disregard for the procedural rules and the general
principles? Is it possible or forbidden to use such an evidence in court? This
constitutes, indeed, a complicated and a tricky question that has already been
widely discussed.
The illegal evidence, which was subject to many debates,
remains still questionable and not yet solved. The criminal or public action
aims at clarifying the truth. Therefore, it is necessary to have an evidence to
confirm the commission of offence and its imputation to its perpetrator. The
search for criminal evidence is subject to the principle of freedom of
evidence.
Yet, the freedom of evidence and the search for the criminal
evidence is not an absolute and unrestricted freedom, for it is vital to
reconcile the society's interest in order to clear the offence and its
perpetrator to reach the truth, in the one hand, and to implement the right of
the State to resort to punishment.
Besides, it is prohibited to put to use the forms of evidence
which represent an infringement of freedom of individuals and their personal
safety under the freedom of proof. To that end, the theory of legality of
criminal evidence saw the light of the day since the clarification of the truth
cannot happen through the use of an illegal means in a State of law.
VI
The principle of legality of criminal evidence is, basically,
a principle neglected in the law. Moreover, there are some doubts as far as its
real existence in the legal system is concerned.
This very study is aimed for asserting and confirming that the
principle of legality of criminal evidence exists, indeed, both in the Lebanese
and French laws through the definition of a specific and stable concept of the
principle of legality of criminal evidence, the study of its relationship with
the principle of loyalty of criminal evidence in addition to the emphasis on
the various aspects characterizing the principle of legality of evidence, the
principle of loyalty of evidence and the level of their interrelationship ;
hence the need for distinguishing illegal evidence via the definition of a
specific concept of illegal evidence in the criminal evidence, by covering the
whole violations of substantive rules, procedural rules as well as all forms of
illegal evidence.
After the definition of the principle of legality of criminal
evidence and the concept of illegal evidence, we move on, in this study, to the
search for the implementation or the practical application of the principle of
legality of criminal evidence in Lebanon and France. Based on this principle,
we have tried to bring a strict contribution to the confirmation that the
principle of legality of criminal evidence exists indeed, besides, we have
proved its legal value in the Lebanese and French laws.
Afterwards, we have examined the destiny of this illegal
evidence and the assessment of systems of invalidity adopted in Lebanon and
France, the level of their efficiency and the effective implementation of the
principle of legality of evidence so as to answer the main issue of this study,
otherwise said the principle of legality of criminal evidence meets a vital
need that requires a legislative support in Lebanon and France in a bid to
devote the effective implementation of this principle. The legislative
recognition of the principle of legality of criminal evidence with an
innovative procedural sanction is the only means for convincing the stance of
jurisprudence, which strives for weakening the principle of criminal evidence
and for marginalizing it. Thus, there is an urgent and vital need for
innovating a new technique and legal tools likely to exclude illegal
evidence.
Key Words:
Loyalty, freedom, evidence, legality, Lebanon, France, Sanction,
Nullity, Procedure.
VII
SOMMAIRE
INTRODUCTION . 1
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