PROBLEMATIC ASPECTS OF PRIVATE FORENSIC EXPERTS

PROBLEMATIC ASPECTS CONCERNING
CERTIFICATION AND CONTROL OF
PRIVATE FORENSIC EXPERTS: EUROPEAN
STANDARD AND LITHUANIAN PRACTICES
Dr. Gabriele Juodkaite-Granskiene
Director of the Forensic Science Center of Lithuania
Chairman Coordination Council of the Forensic Experts of the Republic of
Lithuania
Astana
24/06/2016
EU Project: Enhancing Criminal Justice in Kazakhstan

European Standard
The European Commission for the Efficiency of
Justice (CEPEJ)
Recommendations on the role of court-appointed
experts in judicial proceedings of Council of
Europe’s Member States
http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/cooperation/cepej/
The Document was adopted on December 11 - 12,
2014

Why is it important and appropriate?
• The CEPEJ Guidelines, Article 138, stipulate that
In accordance with the principles set out in this
document, each Member State of the Council of
Europe should either introduce legislative
regulations on the control or rights and obligations
of such experts in a trial, or review the related
existing guidelines for compliance with the
minimum standard rules of conduct of such
experts.

European Standard
• The CEPEJ Guidelines stipulate:
• the requirements for individuals intending to
become forensic experts
• the rights and obligations of judicial experts
• the Expert Behaviour Principles
• the responsibility of forensic experts

The requirements for individuals intending to
become forensic experts
• An expert is part of court proceedings and one of those who
make a decision to transfer expertise to the court.
• These special knowledge is related only to investigation, and
sometimes assessment, of certain facts.
• Therefore, an expert stands as an advisor or assistant to
judges, and nothing else. The role of an expert, therefore, is
different from that of a judge, who is the only one to decide
on the legal issues. An expert gives evidence to the court in
accordance with his/her expertise (education and
experience), which then will underlie the judge's conclusions.

What is expertise?
Special knowledge = knowledge acquired in the
course of a specialized (higher)education + special
practices.
Deep knowledge of various human activities -
sciences, arts, other fields, except the legal sphere.
An expert shall assist with establishing certain facts
only, rather with the application and interpretation
of the law.
In some exceptional cases, foreign law may be the
subject of an expert assessment. It is by no means
assumed that an expert should apply the law.

The European standard for selecting an expert
Generally, the main criteria of selecting an expert
should be expert's qualifications.
An expert shall have appropriate qualifications and/or
necessary experience or skills.
The qualifications depend on the knowledge and
specific task set.
Therefore, the expert qualifications requirements will
vary depending on the type of job and specific
assignment.

What are the practices used in Lithuania?
• The Law on Forensic Examination of the Republic of
Lithuania defines that certification of the persons
who intend to become forensic experts may
provide:
• public forensic science institutions (for the types of
forensic examination such institutions conduct)
• other governmental specialized licensing
commissions

What are the practices used in Lithuania?
The Law on Forensic Examination of the Republic of
Lithuania stipulates that a person intending to become
forensic expert must meet certain requirements, such as:
• hold a degree from a higher educational institution in a
field most appropriate for the forensic examination in
question
• pass an examination for his/her legal knowledge
assessment
• take an exam for his/her special knowledge assessment

The first problem is
• What should the basic education be for different
types of forensic examinations?

Practice with state forensic science institutions
• Basic education
• Practical (daily) work with an experienced
expert
• Training under a special-purpose program for
obtaining legal and special knowledge
• Undergoing certification after 2 years of training

The minimum legal knowledge
• A unified program on legal knowledge approved
by the Minister of Justice, the new version
adopted in 2014
• http://www.ltec.lt/lt/teisiniu-ziniu-programa
• The problem is that a minimum knowledge of
criminalistics and forensic science is lacking

What is the root of the matter?
• The criminalistics has developed methodology of
forensic science, so what is the minimum
knowledge in the field of criminalistics then?
• It will be up to the certifying forensic institution to
decide, but what if such institutions do not operate
as forensic science institutions (e.g. certification for
construction, property assessment, audit)?

Private forensic experts
• They have no opportunity to learn from an
experienced forensic expert
• They cannot obtain knowledge in criminalistics
and forensic theory

There are additional problems with controlling competencies
and qualifications of private experts
• Some types of liability are non-existent or
inadequately used (no insurance, inefficient
consequences of the sanctions imposed, etc.)
• Forensic activities are not controlled for quality
or competent performance (the code of ethics is
not enough to resolve the matter)
• The forensic conclusion process is not
monitored

Documents Additional to the European Standard
Council Conclusions on the creation of a European
Forensic Science Area 2020 (adopted recently):
• 1. ‘Best Practice Manuals1 for forensic
disciplines’
• 2. ‘Stimulating exchange of forensic information
from databases, for example in the areas of
weapons and ammunition, explosives and
drugs’

European Forensic Science Area 2020
• 3. ‘Proficiency tests and collaborative exercises
for forensic disciplines’
• 4. ‘Forensic awareness and training for law
enforcement and justice communities’
• 5. ‘Stimulate accreditation of forensic service
providers and competence of forensic personnel
on a voluntary basis’

European Forensic Science Area 2020
• 6. ‘Stimulating exchange of forensic data via
Prüm and improving its quality’

European Network of Forensic Science Institutions
www.enfsi.eu

Thank you for attention!
For any questions please contact:
+77172/237019/21
www.eucj.kz
https://www.facebook.com/EUCJKZ/
https://www.twitter.com/EUCJKZ/
http://www.slideshare.net/EUCJKZ

PROBLEMATIC ASPECTS OF PRIVATE FORENSIC EXPERTS

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