THE SPECIALIST'S CONCLUSION AS A PROCEDURAL SOURCE OF EVIDENCE: SELECTED ASPECTS OF THEORY AND PRACTICE

Abstract

Current article deals with the issue of using a specialist's opinion as a source of evidence in criminal proceedings. On 09.10.2024, the law of Ukraine was adopted, and on 25.10.2024, the law of Ukraine entered into force: on amendments to the Code of Ukraine on administrative offenses, the criminal and criminal procedure codes of Ukraine on optimizing the activities of specialists in criminal proceedings.
Major changes include:

• The ability to attract specialists to provide certificates and conclusions on the identification of persons, weapons, military supplies, explosives, explosive devices, traces of an explosion or a shot, Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, their analogues and precursors, strong medicines and other specific issues.
• Establishment of administrative and criminal liability for specialists for evading appearing in court or pre-trial investigation bodies.
• Granting the right to specialists from foreign countries or international organizations to provide expert opinions.

These changes can significantly simplify the investigation and trial process, making it more efficient and fast acting. The practice of using a specialist's opinion in criminal proceedings is not new. On July 1, 2020, the law of Ukraine "on amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine on simplification of pre-trial investigation of certain categories of criminal offenses" came into force.t This law introduced amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, in particular regarding the involvement of special knowledge in the process of investigating criminal offenses [1].

According to Article 298-1 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, in criminal proceedings on criminal offenses, in addition to the sources of evidence provided for in Article 84 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, explanations of persons, results of medical examination, expert opinion, readings of technical devices and technical means that have the functions of photo and film shooting, video recording can also be used. According to Part 1 of Article 300 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, a specialist's opinion must meet the requirements for an expert opinion. The expert's conclusions as a source of evidence can be obtained even before the start of a pre-trial investigation and have the status of a procedural source. These changes are aimed at improving the efficiency and speed of pre-trial investigation, but in practice and in scientific circles there are still unresolved and debatable issues.