CURRENT ISSUES OF THE SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE USING IN INFORMATION SUPPORT OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES INVESTIGATION
Authors:   Donetsk Law Institute, MIA of Ukraine, Mariupol, Kovalova Olha , Kovalov Vasyl ,   Donetsk Research Forensic Center of the Ministry  of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
Published: April 2021

The investigation of criminal offenses, especially in modern conditions, is difficult to imagine without the assistence of persons with special knowledge in various fields of science, technology, art, craft and more. The main forms of using such knowledge are the involvement of specialists in criminal proceedings (Article 71 of the CPC) and forensic examinations (Articles 242–244 of the CPC). A significant number of works of scientists have been devoted to the development of theoretical aspects of the institute of special knowledge in criminal proceedings, but the unity of opinion on the relationship between general knowledge and special knowledge has not been achieved. Special knowledge is considered to be knowledge that is not common, well-known, but only those acquired by professionals in a particular field of science, technology, art, crafts, and so on. It should be noted that the attribution of certain knowledge to the well-known is conditional. Some thing that was for some time considered to be unknowable, becomes widespread over time, becomes public. The use of special knowledge facilitates a full, objective and comprehensive investigation, ensures the collection of information and the formation of the necessary evidence base. Information is the substantive side of court evidence, which is established from sources due to the order prescribed by law. Sometimes this information is called evidence. However, in criminal proceedings, not only the information that constitutes the essence of the evidence is used. The problem of information support of the investigation has become especially important in connection with the adoption of the Law «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine to Simplify the Pre-trial Investigation of Certain Categories of Criminal Offenses». The authors of the article consider the peculiarities of the special knowledge using during the pre-trial investigation of criminal offenses in the form of inquiry. According to the current CPC of Ukraine, the investigator may conduct an inspection of the scene and a medical examination before entering the information into URPI. The means of information support of the inquiry, which requires the use of special knowledge in the field of medicine, should include a medical examination (paragraph 2, part 3 of Article 214 of the CPC). It can be conducted before the information is entered into the URPI, and its results are recognized as a source of evidence (Article 298-1 of the CPC). Unfortunately, the legislator did not specify the purpose of the medical examination and the procedural document, which should reflect the results of this procedural action. Establishing the condition and features of the human body requires appropriate research, which is the subject of forensic examination. The use of special knowledge in the process of information support criminal offenses investigation, requires further research and regulation. A clear distinction at the regulatory level requires the purpose of examination and forensic examination. As this issue arises at the initial stage of the proceedings, changes are required to the CPC of Ukraine, as the authors note in this article.