Rules for drawing up an expert opinion. V. Requirements for drawing up an expert opinion. Nuances of compilation in various research areas
16. The expert report shall indicate:
a) date of preparation and number of the expert report;
b) the basis for conducting an examination of the assessment report;
c) information about the customer of the examination of the assessment report or other body that initiated the examination of the assessment report (full name, location, OGRN (if available). If the customer of the examination of the assessment report is an individual, information about him is indicated in the following composition: last name, first name, patronymic, series and number of the identity document, date of issue and authority that issued the specified document;
d) type of examination of the assessment report;
e) information about the assessment report (date of preparation and serial number of the assessment report, information identifying the assessment object, date of determination of the value of the assessment object), as well as information about other documents and materials submitted for the examination of the assessment report;
f) information about assumptions and restrictive conditions, taking into account which the examination of the assessment report was carried out;
g) information about the expert (experts) who signed (signed) the expert opinion (last name, first name, patronymic, registration number according to the register of members of the self-regulatory organization of appraisers);
h) the results of checking the assessment report for compliance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation on assessment activities, including the requirements of the Federal Law, federal assessment standards and other acts of the authorized federal body exercising the functions of legal regulation of assessment activities, and (or) standards and rules for valuation activities of a self-regulatory organization of appraisers;
i) the results of checking the validity of the valuation methods chosen by the appraiser within the framework of each of the valuation approaches used by the appraiser and checking the compliance of the calculation of the value of the valuation object carried out in the report with the relevant approaches and methods;
j) results and justification for other actions of the expert when conducting an examination to confirm the value;
k) conclusion of an assessment report based on the results of the examination, which must be justified.
17. The result of the examination of the assessment report is a positive or negative expert opinion.
When conducting a normative and methodological examination, a positive expert opinion is recognized as an expert opinion containing a conclusion about the compliance of the assessment report with the requirements of the law Russian Federation on valuation activities, including requirements Federal Law, federal assessment standards and other acts of the authorized federal body that carries out the functions of legal regulation of assessment activities, and standards and rules for assessment activities (hereinafter referred to as the conclusion on the compliance of the assessment report with the law).
When conducting an examination to confirm the value of the appraised object, determined by the appraiser in the report, a positive expert opinion is recognized as an expert opinion containing a conclusion confirming the value of the appraised object, determined by the appraiser in the appraisal report, including a conclusion on the compliance of the appraisal report with the law.
A negative expert opinion is an expert opinion containing a conclusion different from the conclusions specified in paragraphs two or three of this paragraph.
The negative expert opinion includes a full list of identified violations and their justification.
18. A negative expert opinion must contain a list of identified technical errors (misprint, typo, grammatical or arithmetic error) that can mislead users of the assessment report and also lead to ambiguous interpretation.
Identified technical errors made by the appraiser when drawing up the appraisal report, but which did not lead to a violation of the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, including the requirements of the Federal Law, federal appraisal standards and other acts of the authorized federal body exercising the functions of legal regulation of appraisal activities, and (or) standards and rules of appraisal activities, and which do not affect the value of the appraisal object determined by the appraiser in the appraisal report, are not grounds for drawing up a negative expert opinion.
19. In the event that the regulatory legal act, the contract for conducting an examination of an appraisal report, a court ruling or internal documents of a self-regulatory organization of appraisers does not indicate the type of examination, the expert conducts a normative and methodological examination.
20. The expert opinion is drawn up in writing in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Law, federal valuation standards, standards and rules of valuation activities of a self-regulatory organization of appraisers and must be numbered page by page, bound, sealed with the seal of a self-regulatory organization of appraisers (except for cases of drawing up an expert opinion in the form of an electronic document), signed by the expert (experts) who carried out the examination of the assessment report, approved by the head of the expert council of the self-regulatory organization of appraisers or another authorized person, certified by the head of the executive body of the self-regulatory organization of appraisers or other authorized person and approved in the manner established by the self-regulatory organization of appraisers in accordance with the requirements of this Federal Assessment Standard.
Quite often, for an objective consideration of criminal and administrative cases, civil claims a number of diverse examinations are required, which are documented in appropriate written documents. All requirements for expert opinions are regulated legislative acts, the main of which is the Federal Law “On State Forensic Expert Activities in the Russian Federation” (Article 25).
The generally mandatory requirements when drawing up an expert’s opinion include the following parameters (information):
- An exact indication of the date and time of the beginning and end of the expert study. In addition, it is necessary to note the place of the initial inspection of the object under study (if necessary), as well as indicate the coordinates and time period of the main study.
- Indication of complete information about the document that became the basis for the examination: court order, investigator or investigator about the purpose of the study...
- Indication of comprehensive information about judicial authority and the judge who ordered the examination, or about an employee of the investigative or authorities if they issued a resolution on the examination.
- Displaying reliable data about the organization forensics and the specialist who conducted the study. In this case, the full name, patronymic and surname, comprehensive data on education and acquired specialty, academic degree or title (if any), work experience as an expert, as well as position at the time of the examination must be indicated.
- The appropriate column must contain the expert’s signature confirming that the head of the expert organization has informed him about criminal liability in case of an unreliable (false) conclusion. Disclaimer must be provided before conducting research.
- In the conclusion, questions are indicated in strict accordance with the wording of the initiator of the examination. If the expert changes the text of the question, he must display the original version.
- The document must contain a complete, comprehensive description of the materials being studied, indicating the unique features that characterize the object, and their recording in photographs. The sequence of inspection and examination of the object can be summarized in a photo table, which is part of the expert report.
- If during the examination there were persons related to the trial present in the premises or on site, then in the expert’s conclusion their personal data, position and legal status.
- A correctly drawn up conclusion reflects the entire sequence of the examination, the analysis of data obtained during the study, as well as an indication of the methods used to obtain the results.
- The conclusion should reflect an assessment of the data obtained and draw appropriate conclusions, which should be logical and justified.
- Indication of the time and place of the inspection only, and not the entire time spent on the full expert examination.
- Very often, instead of indicating personal data - last name, first name and patronymic, the expert limits himself to only initials.
- Only the degree of education is recorded (for example, “higher”) without specifically indicating the name of the educational institution and specialty in accordance with the diploma.
- Instead of data on the expert’s work experience, the total work experience is indicated.
- The conclusion does not contain a description of the research conducted to obtain answers to the questions posed to the expert. This calls into question the reliability of the expert opinion.
Incorrect, illiterate, or erroneous conclusions in most cases raise significant doubts about the expert’s competence and become grounds for not accepting research data as evidence in the process.
TASK No. 1.
Discipline "Psychological examination"
Course, profile “Social psychology”
Exercise: Carefully read the proposed material about the requirements for drawing up a conclusion based on the results of a forensic psychological examination. Write down the required elements and their sequence in the structure of the forensic psychological report based on the results of the examination. Based on the material studied, make 15 test tasks with three possible answers to each task, one of which can only be correct.
Mandatory requirements for the structure of the conclusion of a forensic psychological examination
The conclusion of a forensic psychological examination is the final document of all the work of a psychologist. The conclusion is a procedural document in which the expert sets out the progress and results of the expert study. The expert gives an opinion in writing, on his own behalf, signs it and bears personal responsibility for it. In accordance with the law “On State Forensic Expert Activities in the Russian Federation” (Article 25), not only the final conclusions stated as the result of the conclusion at the end, but also the entire text of the conclusion (and its fragments) as a whole have evidentiary value. In its most detailed form, the structure of the expert opinion is given in Art. 25 of the Law “On State Forensic Expert Activities in the Russian Federation”: Article 25.
Conclusion of an expert or commission of experts and its contents
Based on the studies conducted and taking into account their results, the expert on his own behalf or a commission of experts gives a written opinion and signs it. The signatures of an expert or a commission of experts are certified by the seal of the state forensic institution.
The conclusion of an expert or commission of experts must reflect:
Ø time and place of forensic examination;
Ø grounds for conducting a forensic examination;
Ø information about the body or person who ordered the forensic examination;
Ø information about the state forensic institution, about the expert (last name, first name, patronymic, education, specialty, work experience, academic degree and academic title, position held), who are entrusted with the conduct of forensic examination;
Ø warning the expert in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on liability for giving a knowingly false conclusion;
Ø questions posed to an expert or a commission of experts;
Ø research objects and case materials presented to the expert for forensic examination;
Ø information about the participants in the process who were present during the forensic examination;
Ø assessment of research results, substantiation and formulation of conclusions on the questions raised.
Similar requirements for an expert opinion are formulated in Art. 204 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation and Art. 86 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. In the structure of the conclusion of a forensic psychological examination, as well as in other types of examinations, it is customary to distinguish three parts - introductory, research and conclusions.
In the introductory part are given general information about the examination:
Ø Its name (genus, type) is specifically specified if it is additional or repeated, commission, including complex;
Ø If the examination is additional or repeated, the brief information about the initial examination - when, where and by whom it was carried out and what conclusion was given;
Ø The case number is indicated, summary circumstances of the crime committed related to the subject of the examination (or the fact on which a criminal or civil case was initiated);
Ø The grounds for conducting the examination are indicated (resolution of the investigator, the person conducting the inquiry, or a court ruling), the date of appointment;
Ø Time and place of its conduct, information about the forensic institution (if the examination is carried out in the institution) and about the expert (experts) to whom it was assigned: last name, first name, patronymic of the expert, education, specialty and experience expert work;
Ø Questions posed for the permission of the expert (experts) are given; they must be given exactly in the wording in which they are indicated in the resolution (definition) on the appointment of the examination;
Ø The subjects of the study and the case materials presented to the expert for the examination are indicated (the expert’s requests to provide him with additional materials, and the result of their consideration are also reflected here);
Ø If necessary, the grounds for conducting the examination are given, i.e., the circumstances of the case are briefly stated;
Ø The expert is warned about liability for giving a knowingly false conclusion with his signature (sometimes it is drawn up in a separate document (the expert’s signature) attached to the conclusion);
In the research part
Ø If necessary, expert comments regarding questions asked. Such a need may arise if the questions for a forensic psychological examination go beyond the boundaries of psychological competence, or significantly expand the scope of the study and thereby go beyond the boundaries of a certain type of examination; if they are not formulated in accordance with accepted terminology. If the questions are formulated unclearly, not in accordance with the accepted terminology, but the meaning of the questions is clear, then the expert has the right to indicate how he understands them, in accordance with his special knowledge, i.e., actually reformulate them (but with the obligatory presentation of the original wording). If the meaning of the question is unclear to the expert, he must seek clarification from the body or person who appointed the examination. If there are several questions, the expert has the right to regroup them, presenting them in the sequence that would ensure the most appropriate order of research. Questions posed at the initiative of the expert are stated after the questions specified in the resolution (definition) on the appointment of the examination.
Ø It must be indicated on the basis of what theoretical starting points existing in psychology the study is based, what will be checked during the psychological examination, what is the subject of the study.
Ø It is indicated using which special means(methods and techniques), a study is carried out, and the full name of the technique accepted in psychology, the author of the technique, if the technique is modified, the author of the modification or a link to a literary source must be indicated (the techniques used must be standard, classically known in psychology). This is necessary in order to provide the investigator and the court with the opportunity to verify the completeness and scientific nature of the expert research methods used and the correctness of their application.
Ø Contains a detailed description of the progress and result of the study so that the logic and essence of the study can be understood. The methods used are indicated; comments are given regarding the stimulus material; describes the specific characteristics of the sub-expert when performing tasks; formal data obtained during the study, using all specified methods and their interpretation. Based on the results of using each technique or battery of techniques, hypothetical conclusions are drawn. The description in the conclusion of the progress and results of the study must be complete, logical and accurate, and not raise questions that require additional clarification or clarification.
Ø If experimental methods are used within the framework of a psychological examination, then the following is indicated: the purpose for which they are carried out; a detailed description of the work progress, indicating the stages, methods and means of recording the results, formal data obtained as a result of the application of experimental techniques, interpretation of the results obtained.
Ø The research part ends with a synthesizing part, where the expert summarizes the data obtained during the study using various methods and formulates general grounds for final conclusions. This part contains evaluative information about the identified characteristics and the rationale for the conclusions. Here the expert gives a reasoned assessment and comes close to drawing conclusions. Typically this part begins with the words: “In summary of the above...”, or “Based on the research conducted...” and is a comprehensive conclusion based on the entire course of the study.
Expert conclusions.
This part of the conclusion should contain brief, scientifically based answers from the expert to the questions posed to him. Conclusions are formed in the same sequence in which the questions were posed. These answers must fully follow from the research part of the expert psychologist’s conclusion and be based in terms of psychological laws and principles, and not allow for different interpretations. Vague and ambiguous conclusions are also not acceptable. The absence of any certainty in the conclusions, the evasive nature of the expert’s answers deprives the study of any meaning and excludes the possibility of using the conclusions by the investigator or the court. Each question posed to an expert must be given a substantive, reasoned answer, and if this cannot be done, the reasons that prevent it from being done should be indicated.
Certain requirements must be met, which are formulated in the following principles:
1. qualification (formulation of a conclusion must require the use of special knowledge);
2. certainty (the conclusion should not allow different interpretations and be vague);
3. accessibility (the conclusion should be understandable to persons who do not have special psychological knowledge).
Conclusions must be made in clear and concise language that does not allow for different interpretations. The extent to which the expert’s conclusion is convincing and understandable to the court depends on the extent to which the evidentiary potential of new information will be realized. Failure by an expert to comply with these principles leads to such shortcomings in conclusions that disavow the evidentiary value of the expert’s conclusion.
The conclusion of a forensic psychological examination can be assessed by other participants in criminal or civil proceedings, who may apply for a re-examination. In this regard, it should be as open as possible to specialists in the field of psychology and create the opportunity to verify the data obtained.
Conclusions are an independent part of the study and represent the expert’s answers to the questions posed in the definition (task). The answer is given to each question posed in the same sequence in which they are presented in the introductory part. The expert is not recommended to make a reference to the research part instead of a conclusion. In exceptional cases, if the conclusion cannot be formulated without a detailed description of the research results set out in the research part, reference to them in the conclusion is allowed. Conclusions on circumstances not included in the research questions, but established in its process, are presented last.
Conclusions should be based on the properties of the object, their relationship, and not on external signs, which are only information about properties. Neither in the conclusion nor in the conclusions should the expert indicate violations, the validity or unfoundedness of claims, falsification, deception and other circumstances. An expert can point out inconsistencies or deviations from any requirements, since he operates with objective facts.
The justification of the conclusions in the conclusion should be optimal, i.e. in volume no more than is necessary to understand the argumentation of the conclusions. Ultimately, the conclusions reflect what was proven in the research part of the conclusion.
When drawing conclusions, the following principles must be observed:
· qualifications;
· certainty;
· reliability;
Availability .
The principle of qualification means that the expert can formulate only such conclusions, the construction of which requires sufficiently high qualifications and relevant special knowledge. Questions that do not require such knowledge and are resolved on the basis of everyday experience should not be posed to an expert.
Certainty principle implies the inadmissibility of vague, ambiguous conclusions that allow different interpretation. These may be conclusions about the sameness or similarity of the objects of examination without indicating specific matching features or conclusions about the homogeneity of the object without determining the specific class to which the object is assigned.
Principle of reliability means that the conclusions are formulated based on information obtained on the basis of reliable research methods. The principle extends to the reliability of the interpretation of the data obtained. The expert's conclusion must be based on provisions that make it possible to verify the reliability and validity of the conclusions made on the basis of generally accepted scientific and practical data.
Accessibility principle stipulates that the expert’s conclusions must be understandable to the persons who ordered the examination and do not require special knowledge for their interpretation. Therefore, special terms are explained, and expert opinions must be clearly formulated.
It should be noted that the degree of certainty and qualification of conclusions depends primarily on the professionalism of the expert and his scientific competence. The reliability of the conclusions is associated not only with the professionalism, but also with the objectivity of the expert. The accessibility of the conclusions determines the perception of the expert’s conclusion by the applicant for the examination. Therefore, all principles are equivalent, and the implementation of the evidentiary capabilities of new information obtained during the examination depends on them. Failure by the expert to comply with these principles leads to the appearance of deficiencies in the conclusions, which reduce the significance of the entire expert’s conclusion.
The classification of expert conclusions depending on the logical form is given in Table. 5.1.
The most important is the division of logical forms of conclusions according to the degree of confirmation into categorical and probable. Categorical a conclusion is given by an expert if the results of the study fully confirm it. In the psychological aspect, a categorical conclusion means the expert’s confidence in its correctness, and likely– his incomplete confidence, the presence of doubts, the validity of which the expert for a number of reasons is not able to verify.
Table 5.1.Classification of examination findings
§ 3. Requirements for an expert’s opinion
Article 25 of Federal Law No. 73-FZ of May 31, 2001 establishes the requirements for an expert’s opinion. In the very general view the expert's written opinion consists of three parts: introductory, research and final. The water part indicates: the name of the examination and its number; what type of examination is it (repeated, additional, comprehensive or commission); name of the court that ordered the examination; basis for the examination; the name of the materials received for examination and the questions raised for the expert’s permission; warning of the expert in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on liability for giving a knowingly false conclusion. The research part describes the research process and its results, provides a scientific explanation of the established facts, and describes in detail the methods and techniques used by the expert in examining the factual circumstances. In the final part, the expert formulates his conclusions, presenting them in the form of clear answers in the order of the questions posed by the court. The content of the expert’s opinion should reflect the entire course of the expert study: expert examination, comparative study, experiment, evaluation of results and statement of conclusions.
There are the following types of expert opinions:
2. Probable;
3. About the impossibility of answering the question posed given the available data - conditional or unconditional, etc.
A conditional conclusion should be understood as a conclusion in which various categorical conclusions are formulated depending on which of the factual data used to substantiate the conclusions will be proven in court. The question of the evidentiary value of a probable expert opinion and the possibility of its use in the process of proving civil cases in the legal literature is still open. However, it seems erroneous to completely deny the significance of the expert’s probable conclusion as evidence in the case, since the information about the facts examined by the expert and stated by him in the descriptive part of the probable conclusion can be used as the basis for a court decision and used as, if not direct, but indirect evidence in the case.
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