Expertise as evidence in criminal proceedings from the Communist period until nowadays

• Author: Saimir Fekolli
• Position: 'Aleksander Moisiu' Durres
• Pages: 265-273

ISSN 2410-3918 Academic Journal of Business, Administration, Law and Social Sciences Vol 1 No 2

Acces online at www.iipccl.org IIPCCL Publishing, Tirana-Albania July 2015

265

Expertise as evidence in criminal proceedings from the Communist period

until nowadays

Saimir FEKOLLI

“Aleksander Moisiu” Durres

Abstract

During their procedural activity, investigative and judicial bodies have the pressing need to make

use of special knowledge in diferent scientic elds of technique and science in order to resolve

outstanding issues related to the subject of verication, which the law has dened as subject of

expertise in criminal trial. Experts’ opinion is conceived and implemented as a particular means

of verication; experts help in discovering the facts that are important to nding out the truth in

criminal proceedings. In addition, they ascertain the facts and give an opinion on them, as a result

of specic skills they have in the eld of technique, science or culture. Experts and the process

conducted by them were given importance in the legislation of the Communist era particularly with

the draing of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1979 which provides in considerable detail both

the functions and the importance of expertise to resolve a criminal case. Furthermore, nowadays

expertise as evidence in criminal proceedings is becoming increasingly important and is emerging,

especially in view of developments in the eld of Technique and Science since many criminals

are very good at using innovations as a priority means for escaping detection and punishment.

But on the other hand, scientic developments are increasingly cooperating with law and justice

institutions to resolve the events and to provide assistance for achieving quality results in a shorter

time, something that probably was unthinkable before.

Keywords: E xpert, the process of expertise, the Communist period, expertise today, the criminal

justice process.

Introduction

e entire activity of the criminal proceedings authorities is governed by the principle of

legality, by strictly adhering to the legal order and by meeting the requirements according

to which a judicial decision must respond to the truth, ascertain the facts and the specic

circumstances of the case. is task can be implemented only by means of the types of

evidence and with the tools of evidence research that the legislator has set out in Articles

153-226 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic

of Albania, article 153 – 226).

During their procedural activity, investigative and judicial bodies have the pressing need

to make use of specic knowledge in dierent scientic elds of technique and science

in order to resolve outstanding issues related to the subject of verication, which the law

has dened as subject of expertise in criminal trials. Every crime or criminal event leaves

behind traces that are varied; in many cases they are invisible and dicult to nd and

manage due to the preliminary measures taken by perpetrators. Opinions of experts from

various elds constitute an important condition in the criminal proceedings, from the