DIGITAL COMPETENCE OF A LAWYER AS A CONDITION FOR MAINTAINING THE BALANCE OF PERSONAL RIGHTS IN A CRIMINAL CASE

The article is devoted to the problems of the implementation of the defender’s function of a lawyer in the conditions of digital transformation of criminal proceedings. Based on the analysis of scientific positions, decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, the Supreme and Constitutional Courts of the Russian Federation, as well as the generalization of law enforcement practice, the key challenges have been identified: uncertainty of the legal status of electronic evidence, threats to the preservation of attorney-client confidentiality in the digital environment, deformation of the principle of immediacy in remote participation, as well as the continuing accusatory bias in the assessment of digital materials. Specific proposals have been formulated to improve legislative regulation and practical mechanisms for ensuring a balance between public and private interests in the digital criminal process.