About the recording of conversations as evidence in a trial

An audio recorded conversation is legal proof even though the recording was made without the knowledge of the person recorded, but in this case it will be required that the recording be made by the interlocutor, that is, by the person who was part of the conversation. Never by an external person or person unrelated to the conversation who has not been part of it.

The right to privacy of the recorded person is not considered violated (it is not a crime), despite their lack of knowledge of the fact of being recorded, as long as the person making the recording is part of the conversation.

On the contrary, it is not licit or legal to contribute voice recordings made surreptitiously (secretly) by those who are not parties to the conversation in the judicial process, considering in this case that an illicit or illegal act occurs. In this case the evidence would be null and void.

It is not necessary to announce prior to the trial that you want to use the voice reproduction test, and it is legal to provide this evidence unexpectedly in the trial itself without prior notice and at the time scheduled for the practice of the evidence within the trial without warning the opposing party.

If you want to contribute this type of recording to the trial, we must ensure that the voice recording is clear and understandable, so that it can be understood by the opposing party and the judge, because if it lacks quality or the assessment is incomprehensible The fact that it is carried out will be negative or will be inadmissible so that it does not cause defenselessness to the opposing party. Therefore, the technical quality of the recording is important.

To provide the voice recording in an unannounced manner at the trial, it is necessary that the party who intends to use it bring with them to the court hearing the necessary devices and apparatus to be able to reproduce the recording at the trial so that it can be heard by the opposing party and the judge, as well as a written transcription of the conversations to facilitate its inclusion as documentary evidence in the summary of the recording text.

Additionally, it is advisable to provide an expert audio report confirming that the voice or conversation recording has not been manipulated or cut, as this prevents an allegation in this regard by the party harmed by said evidence. Using an audio expert is a good way to avoid questioning the manipulation of the recorded conversation.

Therefore, the unannounced contribution of this type of evidence does not imply defenselessness for the opposing party, as long as the requirements detailed above are met: that the person providing the evidence is an interlocutor of the conversation, not an unrelated third party, that the recording is provided to the process, that it be reproduced at the trial and that the transcript of the recorded conversation also is provided in writing so that it is documented in the judicial summary.