REVISITING THE CONTENT OF THE TERMS «EXPERT» AND «FORENSIC EXPERT»

• Main Author: Lada F. Paramonova
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, Russian Federal Centre of Forensic Science 2018-03-01
• Series: Теория и практика судебной экспертизы
• Subjects: forensic science; knowledgeable people; expert; forensic expert; competent person
• Online Access: https://www.tipse.ru/jour/article/view/368

The article presents a review of scientific works by Russian, Kazakh and Ukrainian scientists published over the period 1999–2017 and exploring the definitions of the terms «expert» and «forensic expert» in forensic science, and observes a variety of approaches to how these definitions are formed. The term «forensic expert» is analyzed as it appears in forensic science legislation of the CIS member states. The key limitations of these definitions are discussed, including inconsistencies with laws of logic, linguistic rules, and legislative drafting conventions. The author proposes to define the term «expert» as «an employee of a public or private forensic organization». This definition can be used in the development and improvement of legal norms regulating forensic services. Further, the author defines the term «forensic expert» as «a person entrusted to perform a forensic examination». The proposed definition can be used to improve criminal and civil procedure legislation in CIS member states.