Directions for the Use of Forensic Examinations in Criminal Proceedings

Abstract

The article demonstrates that the use of evidence, including an expert's opinion, constitutes the final stage of the proving process. The term "use" is defined as the handling of evidence and orienting information during crime investigation. The author outlines the criminal-law, criminal-procedural, forensic, and criminological aspects of applying expert examination results in criminal proceedings.

Forensic examinations are used to establish the object, objective side, subject, and subjective side of a crime. Establishing these elements of the offense relies on crime scene examination, trace evidence, and the behavioral mechanisms of the participants in the criminal event.

In the criminal-procedural aspect, forensic examination is utilized to obtain new evidence, construct complexes of evidence for the prosecution, defense, and court, and justify procedural decisions. Data carriers obtained through covert investigative actions must undergo forensic examination to establish their authenticity. Evidence complexes are formed either by the subject of proof or by the homogeneity of evidence. Established expert facts that justify procedural decisions taken by authorized persons must be explicitly stated in procedural documents.

In the forensic aspect, expert examinations are used to: formulate and verify investigative leads regarding the perpetrator and elements of the crime mechanism; model and reconstruct objects, entities, and phenomena associated with the crime; identify persons and objects; overcome counteraction to the investigation; and plan the investigation as a whole or during individual investigative actions. Based on the results of the expert report, the identity of an unknown offender is modeled and preliminary search leads are proposed. Expert identification aims to establish a connection between a specific object or person and the crime. Latent traces of crimes are identified either directly or indirectly through expert analysis. The expert report serves as baseline data for overall investigation planning and individual investigative actions.

In the criminological aspect, forensic examinations are used to establish circumstances that contributed to the commission of a crime, develop recommendations for eliminating criminogenic factors, and forecast the emergence of new types of crime. The author emphasizes that despite the current Criminal Procedure Code lacking explicit rules on establishing the causes and conditions contributing to a crime, this direction should continue to be developed within forensic activity.