Рrocedural decision regarding the participation of a specialist during a search in the investigation of a criminal offense

• Published in: Науковий вісник Ужгородського національного університету. Серія Право Vol. 3; no. 89; pp. 385 - 391
• Main Author: Kopcha, V. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 04.08.2025
• ISSN: 2307-3322; 2664-6153
• DOI: 10.24144/2307-3322.2025.89.3.55

It is noted that, as of today, issues related to the conduct of searches, particularly concerning the involvement of specialists, are regulated by Part 1 of Article 236 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. According to this provision, an investigator or prosecutor, in order to obtain assistance in matters requiring special knowledge, has the right to involve specialists in the conduct of a search. Despite this right being clearly enshrined in the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, scholarly debate continues regarding the appropriateness and effectiveness of involving specialists in the execution of this investigative action. As established in the article, which is devoted to the analysis of understanding, regarding the conduct of an investigation in the present conditions on the facts of a search, an important investigative activity, the conduct of which will contribute to the fulfillment of the tasks of criminal proceedings, is a search. The legislator has fixed the legal basis for conducting a search in Art. 234 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine, which states that a search is carried out in order to identify and record information about the circumstances of the commission of a criminal offense, to find an instrument of a criminal offense or property that was obtained as a result of its commission, as well as to establish the location of the wanted persons. From this procedural direction, a search is one of the means of evidence at the initial stage of the investigation of this category of criminal offenses. That is why organizing and conducting a search, the results of which may yield valuable information, items, and objects that will serve as evidence in criminal proceedings, is of key importance. It has been found that the most important conditions for a successful search are the availability of complete and accurate information about the objects being searched, as well as thorough preliminary preparation for the search (collection of orientation information about the objects of the future search and the persons who will be searched, the correct selection of search participants and the preparation of the necessary technical means. It has been proven that during the investigation of criminal proceedings, the procedural order and organizational and tactical principles of conducting a search have been thoroughly studied by scientists in this area. Therefore, given the subject of our study, we propose to highlight the issue of involving a specialist during a search for official forgery, which will contribute to the professional receipt of criminally and forensically significant information data that meet legislative requirements.