To the Issue of Legal Examinations in Criminal Proceedings

The investigation and trial of criminal cases quite often requires the involvement of experts with specialized knowledge in various spheres of human activities. According to the current legislation, these include science, technology, arts or crafts; the list of these spheres of knowledge is exhaustive. Over almost three hundred years the list, compiled as far back as the 19th century, has remained unchanged. Modern scientists of criminal procedure law argue that the list of special knowledge, which acts as a basis for conducting examinations, should be expanded. Knowledge in the sphere of law is put forward as an independent type of special knowledge which, correspondingly, leads to a possibility of conducting legal examinations. The author of this article does not share the opinion that it is necessary to legalize legal examinations as they are, in essence, just doctrinal interpretations of legal norms reflecting the opinion of one lawyer, even if it is a highly qualified person with an academic degree. The theory of law has a postulate known since the times of the Roman law: «Ignorance of the law is no excuse». This principle is true for all citizens living on the territory of a state. If an ordinary citizen, who does not possess any specialized legal knowledge, should know the law and bear responsibility for breaking it, then it is an axiom that persons carrying out investigations and court proceedings must know the law. It is suggested that to solve this problem, the law enforcers (prosecutors, inquirers, investigators, judges) should consult lawyers (including highly qualified ones) in order to clarify the nuances of a legal problem. Such consultations, however, do not have any evidentiary value.