The influence of the adversarial process on the organization of forensic support of justice in common law states is relevant for scientific research.

The purpose of the article is to analyze the organizational and procedural features of the involvement of a judicial expert in the criminal proceedings of the United Kingdom.The article is also devoted to the research of the general impact of the adversarial process on the organization of forensic support of the judiciary in common law states.

 It was found that due to the adversarial principle, which dominates in different states, including in the United Kingdom, the parties have the opportunity to determine at their own discretion what evidence to submit to the court, as well as to choose an expert. An expert in the adversarial system should provide an opinion on the basis of his own independent assessment and has no obligation to “care” about the position of the party, who has involved the expert in the proceeding.

The concept of the expert as a “hired guns” and the theory of “expert shopping” as a threat to the administration of objective and impartial justice in the adversarial law system countries are considered. The ways of solving the problem of the experts’ bias in the competitive system are proposed.

The historical preconditions for the origin of an “expert witness” in the criminal process of United Kingdom have been clarified. Based on the analysis of the peculiarities of the judicial process and the legal system in general, the author found differences in the legislative approach of the United Kingdom to the regulation of the expert status from the approach in continental law countries.

Attention is drawn to the organizational and procedural features of the involvement of a judicial expert in the criminal proceedings of the United Kingdom. Case law, the Rules of Criminal Procedure of the United Kingdom, the Regulations on the Accreditation of Forensic Experts, the Expert Evidence Prosecution Guidance, and some monitoring documents on forensic issues in the United Kingdom are analyzed. The status of expert evidence for the proving or disproving the accusation in criminal proceedings has been determined.

The author concludes that the function of the expert in the United Kingdom includes the need to balance the client’s expectations with the obligation to maintain objectivity.

The shortcomings of the lack of a system of attestation and licensing of forensic experts and relevant registers of forensic experts were revealed, which calls into question the proper professional qualification of experts.

It is concluded that despite the fact that the adversarial process prevails in the United Kingdom, the procedure of the involvement of a forensic expert in criminal proceedings is gradually borrowing some of the features of the inquisitorial process.

Bibliography

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Edited and translated books

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Websites

19. ‘Kompetencje biegłych sądowych – oczekiwania i kryteria oceny: przegląd rozwiązań stosowanych w różnych państwach i systemach prawnych’ (Forensic Watch) <http://forensicwatch.pl/pliki/Forensic_Watch_Desk_Research.pdf> (accessed: 11.02.2021) (in Polish).

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