Court expert status in Poland. Flagging up the selected problems

The intent of this written presentation is to analyse the multi-faceted issue of the position and functioning of court experts in the Polish legal system. Particular attention should be paid in this respect to the appointment and verification of the competencies of candidates for experts, as well as to the instruments of control over their work. These selected aspects are extremely important, not only from the point of view of public interest, but in particular from the perspective of the party’s right to a fair trial, and to have the case heard within a reasonable time. The problems identified and briefly discussed have a structural and systemic nature, and result in arrangements which confirm the necessity for legislative changes proposed for many years, relating to court experts as well as to the practice of judicial authorities. The discussion of these issues has an informative purpose, especially for readers unfamiliar with the Polish legal system.

Erfassung von Merkmalen kindlicher Bindung in familienrechtlichen Verfahren: Methodische Überlegungen

Child attachment characteristics are important for family court decisions. This article provides a description of relevant attachment characteristics and their assessment criteria (presence of attachment, differences in attachment quality, attachment disturbances). In addition, potential problems and pitfalls of attachment assessments in psychological court expert reports are addressed, including the topics of deficits in knowledge of basic attachment concepts and behavioural criteria, poor internal validity of easy accessible diagnostic attachment or relationship tools, and the limits of transferring valid and sound attachment research methods to the psychological assessments in expert court reports. We recommend an eclectic approach informed by attachment theory, of aggregating and integrate several attachment indicators, including characteristics of attachment figures and different levels of attachment assessment (behaviour and representation). Finally, discuss the use of attachment characteristics for giving a professional opinion on the impact of child rearing experiences, a child’s resilience in face of current adversities, and for predicting potential developmental trajectories. Implications for education and training of experts are mentioned.

Sir Frederick Edward Warner. 31 March 1910—3 July 2010

Frederick Edward (‘Ned’) Warner's childhood home was a London County Council flat in north London. He won a scholarship to Bancroft's School, where he was successful in both academic and sporting activities and was awarded an Exhibition to read chemistry at University College London. Following this chemistry degree he took a diploma in chemical engineering. Sport, debates and left-wing politics dominated his student years. Warner was at the forefront in developing health, safety, risk assessment and environmental policies, particularly in their implementation to chemical process plant; early professional experience in several chemical manufacturing companies and extensive wartime work associated with acid manufacture had driven this commitment. He was a leading figure in the creation of the consulting company Cremer and Warner, and was appointed court expert to the Court of Enquiry following the Flixborough explosion in 1974. As treasurer of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, he chaired three of its major projects: Environmental Consequences of Nuclear War; Pathways of Artificial Radionucleotides; and Radiation from Nuclear Test Explosions. His expertise in the environmental effects of radiation put him in a position to lead the first international team to Chernobyl after the reactor meltdown in 1986. Warner served on many governmental, professional and academic bodies, particularly the Institution of Chemical Engineers, of which he was president in 1966–1967. He was knighted in 1968 for services to chemical engineering, was elected to the Royal Society in 1976 and was a founder fellow of the Fellowship of Engineering (now the Royal Academy of Engineering). He died in 2010, aged 100.

Personalna subrogacija u odnosu prema pravu regresa osiguratelja i ustupanju tražbine – cesiji

The subject of this paper is a review of legislation and case law regarding personal subrogation, recourse obligation and recourse claim of the insurer for payment of insurance compensation as well as determining the amount of payment of recourse claim in civil proceedings before the court and assignment of the claim - cession. The paper starts from the point of view that the terms and institutes of subrogation, recourse and cession are very similar and that they are often identified, so we try to clearly distinguish what exactly the term refers to. In Croatian law, the right of subrogation of the insurer is most often understood as legal personal subrogation where by paying the insurance compensation the insurer assumes the legal position of its insured and consequently enabling the insurer to claim damages against the responsible person . In addition to the above, the paper also considers the statute of limitations for insurers’ recourse rights. Furthermore, the author starts from the point of view that in court proceedings initiated for recourse payment it is necessary for the court expert to clearly determine the parameters based on which the court will be able to assess in a certain percentage the possible contribution of the injured party to the damage towards the plaintiff, namely the insurer.

REVIEW OF THE CONCLUSION OF A COURT EXPERT AND THE WRITTEN EXPLANATION OF THE SPECIALIST: SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCE

Reviewing the conclusions of forensic experts is regulated by the procedure developed by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. The immediate purpose of the review is to establish the conformity of the study to the approved expert methods, to draw up an expert opinion on the procedural and departmental requirements. The ultimate goal of reviewing is to determine whether the conclusion form complies with the requirements of the law, the scientific validity of the expert opinion as a source of evidence, and the competence of a forensic expert. External reviewing is carried out in accordance with the plans of the Ministry of Justice for experts preparing to receive or confirm their qualifications. Internal peer review is carried out in expert institutions as ongoing quality control of examinations. Gross violations in expert studies have been identified, and organizational and procedural consequences are being drawn, which include sending a court notification about the inaccuracy of the examination. The use of reviews of expert conclusions in court proceedings as a source of evidence is unacceptable, since this document is not provided for by the procedural law, there are no guarantees of the independence and disinterest of the reviewer, reviews do not contain data on the actual circumstances of the dispute or offense. The purpose of providing reviews that are not compiled by the staff of expert institutions is to discredit the authority and professional reputation of forensic experts, leveling their conclusions. At the same time, there is an objective desire of the court to involve knowledgeable persons in the assessment of expert research. This is due to the fact that the parties and the court do not have special knowledge, which make it possible to assess the validity and reliability of the expert’s opinion. The procedural form for establishing these circumstances is to use the help of knowledgeable persons who may be involved as specialists to provide clarifications on issues within their competence. The specialist research the scientific and methodological side of expert examination. A written explanation of a specialist is a procedural document that is prescribed by law, but it does not have the status of a source of evidence. If the specialist provides an explanation that contains a negative response to the expert’s opinion, the judge must invite the expert and expert for interrogation to provide explanations. After hearing a specialist and expert, the court may come to the conclusion that the forensic examination was carried out correctly or, conversely, there are doubts about the reliability of the study and the grounds for appointing a new or repeated examination.

FEATURES OF THE PURPOSE OF THE PURPOSE AND CONDUCT OF ECONOMIC EXPERTISES AND EXPERT RESEARCH IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE TAX INSPECTION AND THE APPEAL OF THE RESULTS

The article examines in detail the procedures and features of the use of judicial expertise in the process of conducting tax audits by both controlling bodies and taxpayers, and when appealing the results of tax audits. According to the results of the tax audit of economic entities, in case of detection by tax inspectors of tax offenses, an act of inspection is drawn up, which contains a detailed description of the general information about the taxpayer, financial indicators, base and amounts of taxes paid for the audited period, as well as the content and amounts of the identified audits. tax offenses. In the event that the audit reveals tax offenses and the results of consideration of objections (if any), no adjustments have been made to the act of inspection, the controlling authority sends to the taxpayer a tax notification-decision on the amount of tax liability charged on the results of the check to be paid. In case of disagreement with such amount, the taxpayer has the right to appeal within 10 days such tax notification-decision in the administrative order or at any moment within three years from the moment of its issuance – in court. Being a procedural document, the conclusion of a court expert can be a proof in court, is a strong argument when making decisions in tax disputes and an effective tool for protecting the taxpayer from illegal and biased decisions made by officials of the tax authority on the results of tax audit. In addition to judicial examinations, parties to the dispute (usually a taxpayer) may be assigned expert research, is not a procedural document, but can be a powerful document in proving a party of its correctness in a tax dispute. An important point is the correct formulation of the questions posed to the expert (their focus on resolving disputes, their compliance with the competence of the expert-economist, the lack of a legal component that the expert-economist has no right to consider) and compliance with procedural requirements in the course of court proceedings, since in all types of legal proceedings the expert’s opinion is a procedural document.

METHODS IN CRIMINALISTICS

The genesis and current condition of scientific approaches to defining methods in criminalistics are considered. It is noted that, despite the significant importance for the formation of the methodology of criminalistics science, no separate doctrine of its methods has been created yet. Conversely, scientists offer different definitions and classification constructions of methods of this science. There is not always a justifiable division of criminalistics methods into research methods and methods of practical activity. It is emphasized that the introduction of a single, unified, consistent classification of methods in criminalistics science is a prerequisite for the further effective scientific research in this area of knowledge and the solution of praxeological tasks in the activity of judicial investigative bodies, expert institutions, operational units. Finding out established approaches to the classification of methods in science of criminalistics will contribute to the final formation of the modern scientific criminalistics paradigm. In view of the results of the analysis of scientific approaches, it is proposed to divide the methods in forensics into two varieties, using the following terms: 1) methods of criminalistics that means methods of studying the subject of research of this field of knowledge, carrying out scientific research; 2) criminalistics methods, that is, the optimal methods of action of authorized subjects that are the result of the conducted research and recommended for practical use. Methods of criminalistics should be grouped into the following levels: philosophical, general scientific (methods of empirical research, methods of theoretical research, general logical methods), separate scientific (special) (borrowed, transformed, especially criminalistics). In turn, forensic methods can be divided into: methods of collecting, recording and investigating evidence; methods of using forensic and special techniques; methods of conducting individual investigative (search) actions; methods of designing and testing investigators, court, expert versions and construction of forecasting models, etc. The above points out that in the forensic scientific knowledge there is a complex, dynamic, subordinated system of numerous methods of different levels, spheres of action, directions, which are realized taking into account specific conditions and subject of research. At the same time, this system is open and constantly updated with new methods as a result of their development and renewing.