Standardization of technical and criminalistic and forensic-expert providing of justice in Ukraine: the praxeological aspect

Abstract

The article deals with a relatively new direction for standardization of the state — the regulatory activity at the level of state standards of Ukraine of technical and criminalistics (detection, fixation, seizure, transportation and storage of evidence) and forensic expert provision of justice. The article analyzes the prerequisites for the international standardization of forensic science, the main one of which was the report of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA “Strengthening of Judicial Science in the US: the way forward”, which covered the problems of forensic medical examination, including examples of other types of forensic examinations hands, human hair, bit signs, handwriting) with concrete proposals aimed at eliminating the raised problems at the level of Congress and the President of the United States. This report gave impetus to the development of national standards, primarily by Australia, whose National Standardization Agency (Australian Standards), after the development of its own standards, proposed the establishment of the Project Committee in 2012 under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization, and in 2012 the ISO/TC Technical Committee 272 “Forensic Sciences”. To date, this committee has developed one international standard; five more standards are under development. Throughout the years 2012-2016 the Subcommittee on Standardization in the Security Industry of the Information of Joint Technical Committee (ISO/IEC JTC 1) of the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electro-technical Commission has developed five international standards that deal with working with digital evidence. In addition, in the year 2012, the Project Committee of the European Committee for Standardization CEN/PC 419 “Forensic Science Processes” was established, which is developing a standard for the collection of physical evidence. The need to standardize the jurisprudence was also confirmed by the work of the international commission of forensic experts within the framework of the scientific investigation into the causes of the crash of the Malaysian Boeing MN-17. Part of the accepted international standards is harmonized by the method of confirmation in Ukraine as DSTU (National Standards of Ukraine). However, there is a real need to harmonize international standards by reprinting with the use of the method of specification. In this regard, Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, a member of the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes, which is a monopoly representative of European criminalistics, initiated the creation of “Forensic Sciences” Technical Committee of the National Standardization Agency. At the end of the article it is determined that the activity on the introduction of quality management systems in accordance with international standards harmonized in Ukraine; participation in the work of international commissions; direct or indirect participation in the activities of international institutions; the work begun on the standardization of forensic science, primarily on the harmonization of international standards; the development of national standards will become the most important prerequisites for improving the normative support of the processes of collecting and investigating judicial evidence for the reliable provision of justice in Ukraine.