GENESIS AND DEVELOPMENT OF FORENSIC EXPERTISE IN UKRAINE FROM RUSSIAN TRUTH TO THE MILITARY AGGRESSION

Abstract

The publication comprehensively examines the questions of formation and development in Ukraine of the institute of «knowledgeable people» and «reviews of knowledgeable people» and their transformation since the second half of the XIX century. The publication comprehensively researches the questions of development of «knowledgeable people» institute and their transformation from the second part of the XIXth century to the court experts and court expertise. The development of the system of Ukrainian judicial system and proceedings is analyzed and the tendency of approval of the conclusions of court experts and strengthening of their value in the system of evidence in criminal, civil, commercial and other types of processes. The primary sources for the history of forensic expertise and expertology are analyzed systematically, including analysis of the relevant provisions of the conclusions of the laws and statutes of proceedings of the 19th century – early 20th century, which were in force on the Ukrainian lands, which were part of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires, documents about the organization of forensic expertise during the national liberation struggle of Ukraine, regulatory legal acts concerning forensic expertise in the Soviet period and, finally, the current Ukrainian legislation on forensic expertise and legal. It is established that the main periods of genesis and development of forensic expertise in Ukraine: 1) XI-XIX centuries. – period of genesis of certain types of expertise in criminal proceedings from the times of «Russian Pravda» – to the Cossack time; 2) XIX – beginning of XX century – allocation and consolidation in legislation the status of «enlightened people» (experts), as independent subjects of criminal, civil and commercial process and formation of the first forensic institutions of Ukraine in Kiev and Odessa; 3) 1917 – 1922. – Development and institutionalization of forensic activities during the national liberation struggle in the Ukrainian state; 4) 1922 – 1991. – Forensic activities in Soviet times; 5) 1991 to the present – development and improvement of forensic expertise in independent Ukraine, approval of private forensic experts and reforming of forensic activities by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. It is noted that the main task of forensic institutions of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, etc. today is to form, in cooperation with experts from EU member states, a reliable evidence bases to hold the Russian Federation liable in national and international courts for war crimes committed in Ukraine. An equally important task of forensic expertise is to establish the losses and damage caused by the Russian Federation to private, communal and state property, in order to fully compensate them by the aggressor state.