Project

expert evidence; forensic science evidence; rights of the defense; regulation; criminal law; right to a fair trial

Lead
Dans les systèmes de justice pénale modernes, un grand nombre de cas sont désormais solutionnés grâce à des preuves de nature scientifique. Ce projet de recherche vise à investiguer comment la loi au sens large encadre le recours à de tels moyens de preuve afin d’en assurer la fiabilité.
Lay summary
Depuis une dizaine d’années, la fiabilité de certains types de preuves scientifiques utilisés en justice pénale a été remise en question, et des initiatives diverses ont vu le jour dans les pays anglo-saxons et en Europe continentale afin de mieux encadrer leur mise en oeuvre. Des règles ont ainsi vu le jour pour mieux encadrer l’accès aux professions expertales et pour définir des critères plus stricts d’admissibilité des preuves. Quoique louables, il se pourrait que ces efforts soient insuffisants ou même contre-productifs. Le présent projet de recherche a pour but de faire le point sur ces nouveaux systèmes régulatoires et d’en évaluer les mérites à la lumière des connaissances actuelles dans les domaines scientifiques, juridiques et de gouvernance. Il se basera notamment sur des entretiens menés avec les acteurs concernés dans différentes juridictions. Le projet visera à proposer un système régulatoire basé sur la transparence, la robustesse scientifique et le respect du droit à un procès équitable. En explicitant les enjeux se cachant derrière différents systèmes régulatoires et en proposant cas échant une harmonisation de ces systèmes, il permettra de faciliter l’échange d’informations de nature forensique au sein de l’espace judiciaire européen.

Direct link to Lay Summary

Last update: 19.10.2018

Active participation

In the Western world, many criminal proceedings nowadays involve some sort of forensic science evidence. Yet, the ability of forensic practitioners to provide the fact-finder with accurate information has been questioned in the last decade. Many forensic disciplines have been denounced as lacking empirical validation, relying too heavily on the subjective opinion of individual experts, and having inconsistent and sometimes shoddy practices. The current situation has varied causes. It could be argued, though, that the core issue is a lack of coherent, systematic and efficient regulation in the field. This project first aims at determining how forensic science evidence is currently regulated in the criminal justice systems of Europe (including Switzerland), assessing whether extant regulatory mechanisms align with the purported goals of judicial fact-finding as well as broader judicial values and principles, and evaluating the relevance of the current regulatory regimes in light of existing knowledge in the fields of forensic science, law, and governance. Four topics will be explored:1) What principles underlie the regulation of forensic science and what are its goals?2) By what means are the overarching goals of forensic regulation materialized? (i.e. how is forensic science evidence currently regulated?)3) How are violations of regulatory norms by forensic science providers defined, how are they investigated and what legal and practical consequences do they have?4) Does the regulation of forensic science evidence answer the criminal justice system’s needs? If so, how? If not, why? And how, if relevant, could the situation be improved?On the basis of the data collected, an integrated framework for the regulation of forensic science evidence in criminal justice systems across Europe will be developed, at the interface of science and the law. At a practical level, coordinated rules will be proposed to harmonize forensic science regulation at a European level, by defining who can act as a forensic expert, how forensic work should be carried out and how scientific evidence should be used in criminal prosecutions. The methodology used will comprise the review of written regulation, the conduct of semi-structured interviews with forensic and legal stakeholders, as well as two workshops with specialized scholars and practitioners. The data collection and analysis will focus on model-types of forensic science disciplines and countries, to maximize the external validity of the findings and make them relevant to any types of forensic science evidence and jurisdictions. The project will aim at developing a comprehensive regulatory regime that will guarantee scientific robustness, transparency, balance and accuracy when forensic science findings are communicated to the judicial fact-finder. By proposing the harmonization of forensic science evidence across jurisdictions, it will also facilitate the transfer of expert evidence from one jurisdiction to another in specific criminal cases and help promote equality of treatment between defendants in the European judicial area.