Evidentiary Value of Audio-Video Recordings. Intrusion into Private Life

Abstract

Audio/video recordings may constitute items of evidence, regardless of the technical support on which they are stored, the law imposing as a condition of admissibility that they have been obtained in compliance with the law and morality, a condition that will be verified during the admissibility of evidence.

The correct interpretation of the legal provisions must be made in strict compliance with domestic and international legal rules on the privacy of the individual.

The notion of “private life” encompasses family and conjugal life, daily life at home, the home itself, sentimental life, friendships, leisure, the private aspect of professional work, etc. The right to privacy allows the individual to be the master of a secret, intimate territory, safe from any indiscretion.

In order for the court to determine whether the recordings constitute an invasion of privacy, it must analyze the concept of privacy in the meaning of civil law, a concept which must be related to the actual content of the recordings and the conditions under which they were made.