INVESTIGATIVE EXPERIMENT IN THE SYSTEM OF FORENSIC KNOWLEDGE

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to conduct an analysis of the investigative experiment as a method of cognition and a separate investigative action in the process of pre-trial investigation, as well as during the trial. Special attention is paid to the formation of a procedurally established form of investigative experiment in criminal procedural legislation with the aim of actualizing the mistakes made that cause problems during its conduct and fixing the results, to propose ways to solve them. Methods. The methodological basis of the research is general scientific and special legal methods, dialectical, historical-comparative, comparative-legal, systemic logic, theoretical generalization. The results. On the basis of the analysis, a study of the process of formation of new methods that were introduced into the investigation process was carried out, because such methods as reconstruction and experiment were first used as separate methods of inspection of the scene of the event, search, and later with the development of science and practical developments, the approaches to their cognitive opportunities in the process of pretrial investigation and investigative experiment was included in the procedural legislation as a separate investigative action. In the 1960s, the investigative experiment was included in criminal procedural laws, with the exception of Georgia, Lithuania, and Ukraine. In some countries, two actions have been introduced, such as an investigative experiment and an on-the-spot test. In the Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, the conditions for conducting investigative experiments and the possibility of conducting a repeated experiment were foreseen. In the Republic of Moldova, it was envisaged to conduct an investigative experiment during the pre-trial investigation and to reproduce the circumstances of the event during the judicial investigation. The Ukrainian legislation provided for the use of experimental actions during the reproduction of the situation and circumstances of the event. It was established that the different practice of applying this investigative action became the subject of a wide discussion by scientists, which subsequently led to the inclusion of a new investigative action in the Criminal Procedure Code – an investigative experiment. Debatable issues of the application of this investigative action during the pre-trial investigation are highlighted. The lack of uniform approaches to the tactics of conducting and evaluating an investigative experiment has been clarified. It is explained why certain problems arise during the experiment, as a separate investigative action, therefore it is suggested to use methodological tools, namely methods that will allow to understand the essence of the idea of introducing new forms of procedural activity into the criminal process, which served and continue to be a relevant tool in the process of proof. The article will help to understand which actions will help to form a justified legal position, providing an explanation in a disciplinary case. Conclusions. The experiment is one of the methods in the system of forensic knowledge, together with modeling and reconstruction, they form a rather promising toolkit that is used during any investigative action, as well as during examinations. An investigative experiment, as a separate investigative action, has quite wide and promising cognitive possibilities, for its successful implementation it requires detailed preparation and determination of the sequence of conducting experimental actions. It is proposed to introduce changes and additions to Article 240 “Investigative experiment” of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, which will allow to slightly expand the cognitive capabilities of this investigative activity.