There were several evidence evaluation systems in the history. Torture with fire, water, which was used as a proof in the Middle Ages, later transformed into a formal evidence system. After the bourgeois revolutions the system of formal evidence was changed into the principle of free evidence evaluation by internal conviction. The purpose of the evaluation of evidence is to check its admissibility, concern, certainty and sufficiency. Any material to be recognised as evidence must meet all the requirements. In the current Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania (CCP) the range of subjects evaluating evidence was narrowed in comparison with the former CCP valid till 1 May 2003. According to the current CCP, evidence is evaluated by judges. Other participants of criminal procedings can also evaluate the collected material, but only judges can recognise the collected material as evidence. The evaluation of evidence by other participants of criminal proceedings cannot affect courts decisions. The guarantees of judicial independence ensure free formation of internal conviction. The CCP provides that the full analysis of all the circumstances and the rule of law base the internal conviction. Indeed, other factors also influence the formation of internal conviction: the level of legal consciousness, socio - historical, psychological aspects, the collegiality of criminal case hearing. Separate kinds of evidence have their own specific nature requiring different... [to full text]