Objects of forensic examination in civil cases

The objects in the forensic examination of the legislator include material evidence, documents, objects, animals, corpses and their parts, samples for comparative research, as well as materials of the case for which the forensic examination is made. Studies are also carried out in relation to living persons (Art. 10 of the Law on Forensic Expertise).

The object of expert research is a material object containing information necessary for solving an expert task. The objects of forensic examination in civil cases are living faces and physical evidence, including: displays of people and animals, objects, mechanisms and aggregates, substances, materials and products, documents and printing products, vehicles, food products, drinks, plants and many others.

By type of information carrier, forensic examination objects can be divided into:

- mapping objects - material formations on which, as a result of the process of trace formation, understood in the broad sense of the word, information about another object or event, phenomenon has been displayed;

- objects objects - all material objects - carriers of information about the event due to its existence or the presence of a real or possible connection with it.

When performing forensic identification research, identifiable objects are identified , i.e. objects, the identification of which is the task of the identification process. These include:

- people (plaintiffs and defendants, witnesses, etc.);

- various material objects (shoes, clothing, tools, equipment, vehicles, etc.);

- animals, plants;

- terrain sections, premises, etc.

Identifying objects, i.e. The objects by which the identification task is solved can be:

- traces and copies of these traces in the form of casts, prints, photographs;

- documents;

- plots;

- parts of some items to establish their belonging to a single whole.

In diagnostic expert studies, objects are subdivided into diagnosed objects (sought for) —the state, property of an object, for example, the condition or malfunction of a particular vehicle — and diagnostic objects (checked) —the object (vehicle) as it was found on site. incident and described in good condition.

Based on their procedural value, forensic objects are divided into:

- objects - material evidence;

- objects - samples for comparative research:

- case materials containing information relating to the subject of examination.

For the production of many examinations, samples are needed for a comparative study - objects showing the properties or characteristics of a person, animal, object, material or substance, as well as other samples necessary for an expert to conduct research and give an opinion (Article 9 of the Law on Forensic Expert Activities) . This is an independent type of objects used during the examination, the selection of which depends on the type and type of examination, the nature of the issues submitted for its resolution.

Samples for comparative research are material objects provided to an expert for comparison with identifiable or diagnosed objects (as a rule, material evidence). Unlike material evidence, samples for comparative research are not related to the case in question and are not evidence themselves. All samples sent for examination must be of the required quality, in the right quantity and reliable origin.

Under the proper quality of samples for comparative research is understood as the expression by them of the characteristics of the object from which they are obtained, necessary for the purposes of expert research; the number of samples must be such that it can be concluded that these characteristics are necessary or random and their variability. The conditions for obtaining samples for comparative studies should correspond as closely as possible to the conditions of formation of the object under study.

Depending on the time and conditions of their occurrence, samples for a comparative study can be divided into several groups.

Free samples and are those that were formed before the start of the proceedings on the case and out of connection with it. In the civil and arbitration proceedings, they are submitted by the parties in accordance with Art. 69 GIC and 66 AIC. For example, free handwriting can be letters from a deceased person whose testament is being challenged. The legislator does not specifically stipulate the procedure for obtaining free samples.

Experimental samples in civil proceedings are obtained under the specified conditions in connection with the preparation of materials for forensic examination on the basis of art. 81 GIC. It is not clear why in the Code of Civil Procedure only “the receipt of handwriting samples for comparative research of the document and the signature on the document” is regulated by law. There are a huge number of other samples for comparative studies, such as blood samples of a child and a father for the production of genetic expertise in cases of controversial paternity. Along the way, we note that the article is generally incorrectly formulated from a forensic expert point of view, since handwriting samples and signature samples are not the same thing. The handwriting is the object of judicial handwriting expertise, and the signature can be the object of both forensic and technical forensic examination of documents. To study the signature, it is necessary to select experimental samples of signatures, not handwriting.

Conditionally free are samples that arose after the initiation of the case, but not in connection with the preparation of materials for examination, as such samples can be used, for example, the signature of the plaintiff or the defendant, made by them in statements or petitions.

Unfortunately, the norm devoted to obtaining samples for comparative studies is completely absent in the AIC.

In the production of forensic examinations of certain types, such as forensic engineering, economic, environmental and other examinations, it may be necessary to analyze the documentation. The effectiveness of forensic examination in such cases is largely determined by the quality and completeness of the materials submitted to the expert, which include:

- protocols of inspection of the scene, illustrated in detail with photo tables, drawings, diagrams;

- information about the date of the incident, the place and time of its detection, weather conditions;

- object characteristics;

- information about the events preceding the incident and being in a causal relationship with its occurrence;

- Signs on which the incident was detected, and the conditions of detection, consequences, etc.

All this and many other information is contained in the case file, therefore it is not uncommon for an expert to be provided with all the materials of a civil case, and he decides which of them to use. This forces the expert to analyze and evaluate the evidence and explanations given by the parties, etc. Thus, the expert goes beyond his competence. The accuracy of the information contained in the materials required by the expert, its admissibility and relevance should be checked before the appointment of the examination.