Preserving Online Evidence in Russia: Notary Inspection or Screenshots

Evidence from the internet disappears quickly: a page is edited, a chat is deleted, an advertisement is taken down. Russian law gives a person who fears this a route that does not depend on the other side: a request to a notary to secure evidence under Articles 102 and 103 of the Fundamentals of Notary Legislation. The notary inspects the page or the correspondence, describes what he sees in a protocol and the protocol becomes a written document that a court can examine. A screenshot made by the party alone is also accepted as evidence, but it is easier to challenge.

This guide explains when to ask a notary, what the protocol records, how remote inspection works, what courts do with screenshots and which mistakes make online evidence worthless.

Why a Plain Screenshot Is Weak

Written evidence in Russian civil procedure includes documents made in digital or graphic form and obtained through the internet, as Article 71 of the Civil Procedure Code (GPK) puts it. A screenshot therefore may be admitted. The difficulty is not admissibility but proof of authenticity: the other side says the image was edited, that the page looked different on that date, that the account does not belong to the defendant.

A screenshot normally shows the picture but not its origin. It does not show the address of the page, the time of the check, the device or the path through which the page was opened. A judge who doubts the image has no independent record to rely on, and the party has the burden of removing the doubt.

For a dispute with real money behind it, such as a copied product description, a defamatory publication or an offer made by message, a notary's protocol or a court inspection replaces the weak point with an official record.

What the Notary Does and Records

Under Articles 102 and 103 of the Fundamentals, a notary secures evidence at the request of interested persons when there is reason to think that submitting it later will become impossible or difficult. Internet content is a typical case, because it may be changed or deleted at any moment. As a rule the notary informs the other side of the time and place, but Article 103 allows him to act without notice in urgent cases or where it cannot be determined who will take part in the future case. The notary does not secure evidence in a case that is already pending before a court.

The notary opens the page or the correspondence in the presence of the applicant, notes the address, the date and time, the equipment and software used and describes the content. The protocol includes printouts or electronic copies. The notary records what he saw and does not verify that the statements on the page are true.

The applicant should bring the passport, the exact address of the page or the account details, the login data if the correspondence is in a closed account and the description of what must be recorded. The fee follows the notarial tariff, and a request about a long chat takes longer than one about a single page.

Remote Inspection Under Article 44.3

Article 103 of the Fundamentals provides that an inspection of information on the internet can be performed remotely under the procedure of Article 44.3. This helps an applicant who is abroad, although the details of the technology and the identification of the applicant follow the rules of the Notary Chamber and may change, so they are checked with the notary before the request.

An applicant abroad should prepare the same data as a local one, with the addition of a secure channel for the video session and a document that the notary can use to establish identity. If remote work is not possible, a Russian representative with a power of attorney can appear at the notary, provided the notary accepts the representative for this act.

Notary, Court Inspection and Pre-Trial Capture

The table shows that a notary suits the stage before the claim. After the case is opened the party can ask the court to inspect the evidence or to secure it, as Article 64 of the GPK and Article 72 of the Arbitrazh Procedure Code allow.

Messengers, Email and Closed Accounts

Correspondence in a messenger or by email may be recorded in the same way, but the notary needs access to the account. The protocol states which account was opened, from which device and what messages were seen, with the dates. The applicant should not delete anything or reorganise the chat before the visit, because a clean-up before the inspection suggests tampering.

Where the other side is a company, the protocol should tie the message to a person: the address on the company's website, the number given in the contract or the signature block in an email. Without that link the court may find that the account is not proved to belong to the defendant.

A voice message or a video clip is secured as a file together with the information on its origin, and the notary writes down the way the file was opened and copied.

Mistakes That Make the Evidence Useless

The most frequent error is waiting. By the time the claim is prepared, the page is changed and the proof is gone. The second error is a partial record: the protocol shows one message and omits the question that explains it. The third is a protocol without the address of the page, or with an address that differs from the one given in the claim. The fourth is a translation of foreign-language content that is not certified.

A court also looks at the purpose of the record. A protocol made after the dispute started, from a page that the applicant himself created, carries little weight. The strongest cases are those where the record was made early, from a source independent of the applicant, with the full path shown.

Checklist Before You Go to the Notary

Write down the page address, the dates the content appeared and the name of the account. Save the page to a file with the date. Prepare a list of exactly what must be recorded. Do not edit or delete anything. Arrange a representative or a remote session. Keep the receipt for the notary's fee, since it may be part of the legal costs the court awards.

The attorney prepares requests for securing online evidence, supervises the choice between a notary and a court and uses the protocol in the claim. The first review is of the content that must be saved and of the deadline before it may be lost.

The main channel of communication with the attorney is email: attorneypetrova1@gmail.com.