International Principles of Criminal Procedure and Forensic Methods

Abstract

This article examines current issues in the investigation of criminal offenses in light of international principles of criminal procedure. It highlights the importance of aligning forensic methods with international and European standards and emphasizes the need to improve these methods to enhance the effectiveness of pretrial investigations.
Attention has been drawn to the need to improve and develop legislation governing forensic expert activities. It is noted that one effective way to reform the system is to introduce in Ukraine a unified accreditation system for expert institutions based on the international ISO/IEC 17025 standards, which will allow the harmonization of national approaches to forensic activities with the best practices of European Union and the United States of America.
It is emphasized that the success of preventing and investigating of criminal conduct depends to a large extent on the effectiveness of cooperation among all the participants in law enforcement activities. In this context, it is important to improve the procedural and forensic organization of cooperation between prosecutors, investigators, and operational units, while raising standards for the manageability and verifiability of evidence.
It has been concluded that European standards for the investigation of criminal offenses, as understood in the context of the practice of the European Court of Human Rights (in the broad sense), are the provisions enshrined in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the principles established in the practice of the ECHR, which are binding on the states that have ratified the relevant international treaty. European standards of investigative tactics and methodology in the context of ECHR case law (in the narrow sense) constitute a system of forensic recommendations developed through the analysis of the application of international and national legislation, as well as ECHR decisions, aimed at implementing international principles of criminal proceedings.