Forensic examination

Forensic expertise is a procedural action that consists in examining various objects, materials or information in order to obtain conclusions necessary for resolving a legal dispute and the needs of the investigation.

Forensic expertise is carried out by specialists who have special knowledge, education and experience in a certain field.

Expertise is in demand within the framework of criminal, civil, administrative and economic processes, and its results can be used by the parties to the legal process as evidence.

How is a consultation on forensic examinations carried out?

A consultation on forensic examinations is an important stage that allows you to understand the specifics and procedure for conducting an examination. During the consultation, the client describes his problem.

The lawyer studies the case materials, assesses their sufficiency for conducting the study and helps determine the type of examination. This can be a forensic, handwriting, psychiatric, technical, construction or other examination, depending on the specifics of the case.
If a forensic examination was mandatory, the lawyer suggests which expert to contact to conduct it. If the examination is optional, the advisability of conducting it is discussed.

The results of the consultation determine the next steps in interaction with the client. It should be understood that some examinations must be conducted by forensic experts or special services. These include all types of forensic examinations.

What documents should the client provide for consultation?

To receive consultation on forensic expertise, the client must provide documents regarding a specific object of research or case. The set of documents depends on the type of expertise and the specifics of the issue.

If a forensic construction and technical expertise is required, it is necessary to provide documents for the real estate object: plans, diagrams, projects, building permits or data on violations.

In the case of a forensic financial and economic expertise, the client needs to take financial documents: accounting reports, payment statements, contracts, receipts. If it is a handwriting expertise, it is necessary to provide samples of handwriting or signature, as well as originals or high-quality scanned copies of documents that raise doubts.

It is important that the client describes his situation in as much detail as possible. If, for example, the issue of illegal interference with a computer is being investigated, it is enough to explain the problem, without having to provide the computer itself. Based on the information, the lawyer will determine which specialist to involve.

What results will legal advice on forensic expertise help achieve?

Legal advice «DE-JURE»  on forensic expertise helps achieve clarity and efficiency at all stages of the expertise. Services include:

• searching for a qualified expert. A lawyer helps to choose a specialist who meets the specifics of the case. This can be an independent expertise conducted by a private or state expert, depending on the specifics of the process;
• formulating questions for the expert. A lawyer helps to formulate correct and clear questions. This is important, since the expert must receive specific tasks to provide accurate conclusions;
• determining the terms and cost of the expertise. Simple studies take about a month, more complex ones may require three months or more. The financial aspects of the service are also discussed;
• supporting lawyers during the expertise process. Legal advice ensures effective communication between the lawyer and the expert. The lawyer helps to interpret the expert opinion, which is important for its correct use in court.

Forensic expertise consultation allows you to competently organize the process, minimize errors, and achieve the highest quality result within the framework of the filed case.

Professional assessment (review) of forensic expertise conclusions

Reviewing forensic expertise conclusions is an important tool for checking the quality and correctness of the research conducted. Reviewing (sometimes mistakenly called document expertise) allows you to identify violations of methodologies, errors in conclusions, or non-compliance with legislative requirements.

The client can request a review if he has doubts about the objectivity of the expertise. Specialists analyze the conclusion, checking whether all stages and rules of the research were followed.

If serious shortcomings are found, for example, the expert did not take into account all the necessary objects or violated the methodology, assistance in organizing a new expertise is possible. However, it is impossible to appeal a forensic expertise conducted earlier. In this case, the new expert provides an opinion that can be used in court to resolve controversial issues.

A promising tool is a scientific and legal expertise – the opinion of an expert in the field of law, which can even help identify errors in conducting a forensic expertise. It is rarely needed, but can become an additional tool for protecting the client’s interests in court.

Detection of violations of legal requirements during forensic examinations

Violation of legal requirements during forensic examinations can significantly affect their results, making such evidence false. The process of detecting these violations includes an analysis of the methods and procedures used by experts for compliance with the law and methodological recommendations. The most common violations include:

• studying copies of documents instead of originals. According to the law, signatures and other key objects should be studied only on the originals;
• ignoring mandatory procedures. For example, a construction examination conducted without visiting the site or the absence of an inspection of the objects, which is a mandatory requirement;
• violation of the storage conditions of objects. For example, hard drives must be delivered in proper packaging;
• non-compliance with the methods. If an expert uses the method, but violates its stages or recommendations, this is considered a significant procedural violation.

A review or scientific advisory opinion allows you to identify such errors and form a justification for appealing the examination.

What types of forensic examinations do we assist clients with?

The law firm «DE-JURE» provides assistance to clients in various types of forensic examinations. The most popular areas are:

• construction technical and construction appraisal expertise. Forensic construction expertise is carried out to assess the quality of construction, compliance with the project and identify defects. Appraisal expertise analyzes specific aspects, such as the strength of structures or the use of materials;
• land technical and land appraisal expertise. Forensic expertise of land is necessary to determine the boundaries of plots, the legality of territory use, and to assess land disputes;
• economic expertise. It is carried out to verify financial documentation, analyze business transactions and identify economic violations;
• commodity expertise. It is used to assess the quality, cost and compliance of goods with established standards.
  road accident expertise and auto commodity expertise. Conducting such an expertise of vehicles helps to establish the circumstances of the accident and assess damage to cars.

He firm supports clients at all stages, ensuring the accuracy and objectivity of expert opinions.

Forensic expertise in land relations

Forensic expertise of land plots plays a key role in resolving disputes related to land relations. The main areas of such expertise include:

• boundary disputes and division of land plots. Experts examine the boundaries of plots, determine whether they are correctly established, and resolve conflicts between neighbors, co-owners or heirs;
• legality of land allocation. This type of expertise concerns checking the legality of the transfer of land from state or municipal property. The expert analyzes the documentation to determine whether the actions to transfer the plot were legal;
• assessment of the market value of the land. Forensic experts assess the current or retrospective value of the land plot.

Forensic expertise of land plots provides the court with objective data necessary to make a fair decision.

Forensic expertise in urban planning legal relations

Forensic expertise in urban planning legal relations is divided into two large segments:

• construction and technical expertise includes checking the quality of construction work performed and the compliance of project documentation. Experts analyze the degree of accident, dilapidation of objects, as well as the causes of damage and collapses of buildings, including large structures – hydraulic or port;
• construction and appraisal expertise estimates the market value of construction objects on a certain date and checks the correctness of appraisers’ reports. The forensic expert has the authority to establish the compliance of such reports with legislative requirements, which makes his work key.

These areas allow for a comprehensive study of technical and economic aspects in urban planning disputes.

Forensic expertise in international legal relations

Forensic expertise in international legal relations is an expert study for resolving disputes involving foreign entities or applying international law and the law of other states. It is used to verify contracts or agreements created within the framework of international law, to analyze international financial transactions, and to assess losses in international agreements.