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- From the spot to the barrier: they want to tighten control over the work of private forensic experts
From the spot to the barrier: they want to tighten control over the work of private forensic experts
Mandatory inspections may be introduced for private forensic experts every five years, in particular, to create a register of such companies and specialists, monitor their activities, and verify their qualifications. The updated bill, which was adopted in the first reading back in 2013, was submitted to the government for consideration, Izvestia found out. Now, as experts note, there is no legal regulation of the activities of non—governmental experts, therefore, examinations are often conducted with violations - and, as a result, the rights of citizens are violated. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
How will the rules of work for forensic experts be changed
The activities of non-governmental forensic experts are planned to be significantly tightened. Such amendments to the bill adopted in the first reading back in 2013 were submitted to the government for consideration, sources told Izvestia.
Currently, judicial expertise is regulated by a 2001 law, Vitaly Begeza, president of the Union of Judicial Experts of Russia, reminded Izvestia.
— It says that an expert can be a person who has special knowledge in the field of art, science and crafts, — he said. — Based on this, a huge number of non-governmental forensic experts have been formed. There are no requirements for them, except for a diploma of education or retraining.
The bill is aimed at regulating the activities of forensic experts who perform their functions on a professional basis, said Anastasia Milyutina, Executive Director and Chief of Staff of the Russian Bar Association.
"At the same time, many categories will fall under the law: from experts of state organizations to individuals who carry out their professional activities both in non—governmental organizations and in the status of individual entrepreneurs or self—employed," she added.
Currently, forensic expertise in the field of state expertise is regulated only by the law "On State Forensic expertise". The new document will take into account both state experts and private experts.
First Deputy Minister of Justice Yevgeny Zabarchuk presented the concept of this new law during one of the sessions of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum in 2025.
"Amendments have been prepared in the format of a new version of the federal law on forensic expertise," he said. — The result of a lot of work is the inclusion of representatives of the expert community in this discussion. The main purpose of the law is to replace the outdated, probably morally and meaningfully inactive law "On State Forensic Expertise in the Russian Federation."
In 2024, 62% of all examinations ordered by courts of general jurisdiction were conducted by non-governmental judicial experts, said Vitaly Begeza. At the same time, another 8% were conducted by government experts from the Ministry of Justice, and the rest by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Other departments.
"Part of the updated law is very important — it regulates private experts, among whom there are unscrupulous comrades," he stressed. — There are many people who complain about the unreliability of the examination.
Why did you need the changes?
The new draft law reflects the requirements of the current stage of development, the demand of society and the state for transparency and professionalism, as well as trust in the institute of forensic expertise, said Evgeny Zabarchuk.
— Now all experts working in government agencies undergo certain procedures and attestations, — he explained. — And there is some other reality in the form of non-governmental private experts who exist on their own, in a legal vacuum. They have found their niche and are working. At the same time, we do not even understand who works in private expert organizations, we do not understand their qualifications, the reliability of the examinations they prepare.
The bill expands the scope of regulation, the representative of the department emphasized. In particular, the creation of a unified state register of judicial organizations and private experts. It will include those organizations and individuals who will be verified that they can engage in this activity.
Often, according to Evgeny Zabarchuk, experts are those who do not have proper education, qualifications, and they may also be people with a criminal record.
"The departmental certification system remains in place for state experts, but the requirements for both private and state experts will become unified," he said. — The Ministry of Justice will keep the register and information system. The agency is also responsible for monitoring such organizations, we will conduct inspections and make decisions on exclusion from the register.
Additionally, the amendments propose to amend legislative acts on certain types of examinations, including, for example, forensic psychiatric, forensic medical, fire-technical and others, Anastasia Milyutina added.
In addition, the changes involve the introduction of mandatory assessment of the qualifications of non-governmental forensic experts at least once every five years, they will be conducted by special qualification commissions of forensic expert organizations. The document also clarifies the concept of "knowingly false expert opinion or testimony."
Alexander Fedorov, Deputy Chairman of the Investigative Committee at SPIEF 2025, added that the adoption of innovations would have a positive impact on the crime investigation process, improve their quality and shorten the investigation time.
According to the document, some of the provisions of the draft law should enter into force on September 1, 2027, and the rest from September 1, 2029. In particular, this applies to the passage of mandatory expert qualification certification by private experts.
At a meeting of the government commission on legislative activity, which took place on Monday, June 16, the new version of the bill was sent for revision, the editorial sources said.
What are the risks?
In recent years, the field of forensic expertise has been characterized by a certain degree of decentralization and the lack of a unified quality control system and expert qualifications, said Vladimir Kuznetsov, Vice President of the Association of Lawyers for Registration, Liquidation, Bankruptcy and Judicial Representation. This, in turn, could lead to a number of significant problems.
"There was a heterogeneity in the quality of expert opinions, since the lack of unified requirements for the training and qualifications of independent experts could cause significant differences in the validity and quality of the research conducted and the conclusions issued," he said.
There were also difficulties with verifying qualifications, as participants in legal proceedings often lacked transparent and accessible mechanisms for verifying the professional competence and experience of independent experts, Vladimir Kuznetsov added.
"There were also risks of unfair competition," the expert added. — In the absence of uniform standards, there could be situations when some market participants offered low-quality services, which undermined confidence in the institute of independent expertise.
In addition, the main problem remains that the law enforcement system almost never includes expert opinions initiated by a party to the case, said Alexey Novikov, managing partner of Criminal Defense Firm.
"The Code of Criminal Procedure gave them the right, not the obligation, to attach this type of evidence," he recalled. — The defense side faces this problem more often.
Therefore, amendments to the draft federal law regarding the activities of expert institutions are unlikely to significantly affect such inequality. However, according to the expert, the changes introduced will have an impact on improving the quality of examinations and conclusions.
"The lack of a unified database of independent experts and expert organizations made it difficult to find qualified specialists and assess their reputation," he explained. — The amendments will have a significant impact on the entire sphere.
The proposed stricter measures, despite the potential initial difficulties for some market participants, are aimed at systematizing, improving the quality and transparency of independent forensic expertise, which ultimately should help strengthen justice and protect citizens' rights, experts say.
"But the process of approving such initiatives at the government level may involve a number of factors that affect the timing and results of the review," Vladimir Kuznetsov added. — This may be due to the need for additional elaboration of certain provisions of the draft law, taking into account the positions of various departments and stakeholders, as well as an assessment of the potential economic and social consequences of its adoption.
After the bill is passed, some experts will leave the market, since they will not be able to get into the state register, Vitaly Begeza believes. The representatives of the expert community themselves are ready to regulate their activities by the state, but they believe that the document will be finalized for a long time.
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