Involvement of the Expert by the Defendant for an Examination during the Investigation of the Murder

Abstract

Purpose. Research of possibilities and mechanisms of involvement of the expert by the defender in criminal proceeding on murder; disclosure of the possibility of a lawyer to involve an expert in conducting mandatory examinations in the investigation of murders; formation of recommendations to the defendant on providing an expert who is involved in the examination on the basis of his request, with objects and samples for expert research. Methodology. The article uses a set of scientific methods, namely: terminological, system-structural, formal-logical, comparative-legal. Scientific novelty. In criminal proceeding on murder, the defense party may independently obtain an expert opinion on the basis of a contract with an expert or expert institution and submit it to the pre-trial investigation body or court to substantiate its legal position. At the same time, it is established that a defendant may not initiate forensic medical and forensic psychiatric examinations before an expert or expert institution in connection with legal conflicts between the norms of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and the provisions of bylaws governing the appointment of these types of forensic examinations. In order to obtain samples for examination, a recommendation was made to the defendant to involve a specialist in this procedural action or to receive advice from him. Conclusions. In criminal proceeding on murder, the possibility for defendant to involve an expert in the examination concerns the appointment of mandatory and optional examinations. In order to conduct mandatory forensic and forensic psychiatric examinations, the defendant makes a petition to the investigator or prosecutor to initiate them, and in case of refusal, the investigating judge, providing a relevant petition. The inability of the defendant to initiate forensic medical and forensic psychiatric examinations before an expert or expert institution violates the equal opportunities of the parties to the criminal proceeding to present evidence to the court and prove their persuasiveness before the court. In order to ensure the possibility of conducting expert examinations in criminal proceeding on murder, the defendant who initiates them, submits to the investigator, prosecutor or investigating judge a petition to obtain specific objects and samples or receives (requests) them independently. The participation of the defendant, who initiated the examination in the presence of the relevant samples, is obligatory when receiving samples for examination.

Keywords: defendant; expert; expert involvement; murder; forensic medical examination; forensic psychiatric examination.