In order to administer justice according to the rules of lawful and fair trial, the help of someone who has specific knowledge in the field necessary for making a decision is often required. That is why the participation of a specialist in the criminal process has long surprised no one, since one person simply does not possess all the knowledge. By default, judges only have a legal education, therefore, to understand certain processes, professional information may be required that will explain the deep meaning of what happened. It is the position of the specialist who carries out actions that help the legal proceedings, and this article will be devoted.
Historical reference
For the first time the term "specialist" in the criminal process appeared only during the Soviet Union, namely in 1966. This led to the presence in a number of articles of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the RSFSR of a specialist as one of the actors. However, for 6 years after its release, no legislative acts have appeared that would not only regulate their activities, but also determine its rights and obligations. But even after that, one could notice a huge number of significant shortcomings of this norm, which only confused the legal proceedings, but did not help him at all. They were corrected only in 2001 in the new Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation.
The concept
At the moment, the testimony of a specialist in criminal proceedings often plays a final role in forensic examination, and therefore you should clearly know what rights and obligations they have. However, before this, it should be determined what exactly the legislator puts into the term itself.
The position of a specialist can only be performed by a person who has special knowledge. If necessary, he is involved in procedural actions in accordance with the existing criminal law so that he assists in the discovery, consolidation and seizure of the necessary case materials. In addition, they, as technical experts, can use the necessary tools to study documents, help put questions to experts and explain to the court issues that fall within their area of competence.
Place of a specialist in a group of participants in legal proceedings
According to existing legislation, a specialist in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation is assigned to the group of other participants in legal proceedings. Directly all his actions should be aimed at ensuring the proper level of justice and providing objectivity to the available evidence that was obtained in the case and cannot be provided by anyone else, since the rest of the participants cannot do this due to lack of knowledge. However, such an interpretation does not mean at all that the specialist in criminal proceedings is an insignificant person who plays only a supporting role.
Frequently bringing them to court proved the true necessity of such people, since often without them it is simply impossible to carry out a proof procedure. Based on the foregoing, it can be understood that the specialist in Art. 58 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation plays one of the most important roles, which is to ensure the normal and objective functioning of the entire legal proceedings.
The concept of specialized knowledge
In order to enter the register of specialists, a person must possess a number of special knowledge. However, what is commonly understood by this term? It is customary to highlight several special principles:
1. All knowledge should be included in a narrow sense, and also represent a single system of knowledge.
2. All knowledge available to a person is well-known and accessible, but only a limited circle of people should really possess it.
3. Knowledge should be obtained by a person as a result of special education, training or self-development.
4. The acquired knowledge is necessary for a particular profession and, if necessary, is used in criminal procedural activities to consider and resolve issues in a specific area.
From all this, it can be understood that only persons who have no interest in the final outcome of the criminal case, but who have special knowledge, can be a specialist in criminal proceedings. This knowledge can come from completely different areas such as art, science, technology and many others. So, most often they invite technical specialists, psychologists and teachers who can help with the interrogation of a minor.
Independence
Throughout the course of criminal proceedings, a specialist in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation must have complete independence, and therefore pressure from bodies or other persons or parties to the case who are directly interested in resolving it is not allowed. If this rule does not apply, then it simply does not make sense to call a specialist to resolve the case, because his testimony may be biased.
Help Usage Forms
At the moment, the help of people from the roster of specialists can be applied in cases where it is necessary to get help in the following areas. These include:
1. Attraction of a specialist for direct participation during the investigation.
2. A specialist may be involved in the use of technical means that can help in the process of studying the case materials.
3. To correctly pose questions to experts.
4. To clarify the participants in the process issues that directly fall within their narrow competence.
According to article 168 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on the participation of a specialist, the investigator has the right to bring him in cases approved by law. Also, before the start of investigative actions, a specialist must be explained all his rights and obligations, as well as responsibility for giving false information.
Common rights
Particular attention should be paid to considering the rights and obligations of a specialist, which are the basis of his procedural status. The following are recognized as rights for him:
1. Refusal to participate in criminal proceedings if he does not have sufficient knowledge to do so.
2. With the permission of the inquiry officer, investigator or court, ask questions to all participants in the investigation.
3. To get acquainted with the protocol of action in which he directly participated, as well as make comments on it and make suggestions for changing or entering data.
4. To file complaints against officials who, during the exercise of their functions, restricted the rights of a specialist.
Other rights
In addition to all of the above rights, an additional specialist has a number of very significant ones:
1. To give an opinion, that is, to draw up written documents about their judgments on the questions that were asked of him during the investigative actions.
2. Testify, that is, during interrogation, verbally answer about the circumstances of the case, which require special knowledge, and also explain the course of their reasoning.
Responsibilities
However, in addition to rights, specialists also have a number of very serious responsibilities that they must necessarily observe. First of all, it should be understood that the specialist should not reject the call from the investigator or the court, and also not disclose any materials that he received during the investigation, especially if he was informed about this beforehand. The disclosure of such information may lead to the fact that a person will be convicted under a criminal article. Quite often, to prevent this, they can even take a non-disclosure subscription from him .
Requirements
To carry out their duties, any specialist must meet all the requirements that are presented to him by law. Mostly, they are in his professional competence. The investigator is required to check it before directly involving in the investigation. He is also required to make sure that the specialist is in relation to the parties to the case, and later explain to him all his rights and obligations. Only after this can you begin to directly fulfill your role in the matter.
Specialist participation in legal proceedings
Forms of specialist participation in the criminal process at the moment have absolutely no legislative fixation, however, it is customary to include the following:
1. Preparation of specific conclusions in their area of competence.
2. Interrogation of a specialist who helps him clarify his opinion, approved in the report or to clarify other circumstances.
3. The production of independent procedural actions, but only on the special task of the investigator.
4. The production of checks and revisions of documents, as well as their study at the request of the authorities.
5. Examination of corpses or objects.
6. Providing advice.
At its core, most of the specialist’s actions are aimed at assisting the investigator, advising him on narrow-profile issues that he cannot know himself. Its activity has a very strict framework, therefore experts are also often additionally involved.
Conclusion
In order to obtain special information in a number of areas, the court attracts specialists to the criminal case. These persons should directly assist the investigator, interrogating officer or judge to the extent determined by the existing criminal procedure legislation. All his activities are aimed solely at helping to achieve the objectivity and fairness of the decision on the case, as well as studying the evidence that no other participant in the process can do, because he simply lacks certain knowledge. However, in no case should the concepts of “expert” and “expert” be confused and interchanged, because, despite the fact that their actions may at first glance resemble each other, in practice they are quite different.
At the moment, law enforcement agencies and the court have increasingly begun to invite specialists to assist them. All this helps to expand existing knowledge and get a full range of evidence that could be applied to the case, rather than trying to find meaning in the field of knowledge, where there is a clear deficiency. Specialists belonging to a group of other members of criminal proceedings began to occupy a much more important place in the modern investigative process, especially when compared with the times of the Soviet Union.