The problem of countering an environmental offense in modern conditions is complex and integrative, due to the destructive effect of these attacks on the environment, possible harmful consequences for the life and health of people, property, production safety, the economic system in the state.
The increasing role of legal proceedings in establishing the actual circumstances of environmental offenses determines the relevance of the further active development of forensic engineering and environmental impact assessment as an independent and important modern direction of forensic types of research.
In order to better meet the needs of investigative and judicial practice in this area in Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, a department of engineering and environmental research has been established and is currently operating.
Forensic experts of the engineering and environmental research department of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise are entitled to conduct forensic examinations on environmental protection, the use of natural resources and environmental safety. According to the Instruction on the appointment and conduct of forensic examinations and expert studies the main tasks of engineering and environmental examination which are decided by the experts of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise include the following issues:
- determination of circumstances related to the onset of an environmental situation;
- establishment of technical and organizational reasons of violations of the technological process of production, if it contributed to the release of pollutants, energy and emissions of other harmful substances and the accumulation of industrial waste;
- determination of the compliance of the actions of persons (or their inaction) involved in the environmental emergency situation with the requirements of regulatory acts in the field of environmental safety, environmental protection and the use of natural resources;
- establishment of a causal relationship between the actions/inactivity of specially authorized persons (in the field of environmental protection, use of natural resources and environmental safety) and the consequences that have come.
In general, the implementation of forensic engineering and environmental expertise as independent class of expert research is a natural process, the need of which was due to the realities of the present, and even more so because of the future, since environmental problems take an increasing role in the life of modern man and the whole society and not only on the territory of a particular country, but also in industry, the economy and even politics.
