Primerjalna analiza kompetenc sodnih izvedencev za področje požarov in eksplozij

Abstract

Bearing in mind the fact that the defendant in criminal proceedings has the right to a defense by remaining silent and even giving false statements, as well as the fact the testimonies of witnesses frequently lack consistency and credibility, there is a large number of cases in which the court has to rely on the findings and opinions of expert witnesses for assessments and clarifications of legally relevant facts. Therefore, it is of great importance to scrutinize issues pertaining to the competencies of forensic experts and the quality of databases on forensic experts. Hence, the subject under review in this article is a comparative analysis of the registers of forensic experts in Serbia, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as compared to the corresponding registers in Slovenia and Croatia, as member states of the European Union. We decided to research the registers of forensic experts in the fields of fire and explosion, using the following research methods: observation, description, comparison, and analysis. The analyses focused on the forensic experts’ type and level of education, age, and gender, as well as how the registers of forensic experts are organized. This article also provides recommendations related to improving the manner of keeping the register of court experts and the optimal competencies of such experts to ensure that legally relevant facts in criminal proceedings are correctly and thoroughly established.