+39 02 48013440

info@studiolegalestella.it

 
logologologo

  • Ita
  • Eng

  • Home
  • The Firm
    • Professionals
    • Att. at law Prof. Federico Stella
  • Services
    • Corporate Criminal Law
    • Environmental Criminal Law
    • Labour Criminal Law
    • Bankruptcy Criminal Law
    • Tax Criminal Law
    • Copyright Criminal Law
    • Company Law
    • Commercial Law
  • Work with us
  • References
  • FAQ
  • Blog
  • Contacts

+39 02 48013440

info@studiolegalestella.it

 
logologologo

  • Ita
  • Eng

  • Home
  • The Firm
    • Professionals
    • Att. at law Prof. Federico Stella
  • Services
    • Corporate Criminal Law
    • Environmental Criminal Law
    • Labour Criminal Law
    • Bankruptcy Criminal Law
    • Tax Criminal Law
    • Copyright Criminal Law
    • Company Law
    • Commercial Law
  • Work with us
  • References
  • FAQ
  • Blog
  • Contacts
logologologo

  • Ita
  • Eng

  • Home
  • The Firm
    • Professionals
    • Att. at law Prof. Federico Stella
  • Services
    • Corporate Criminal Law
    • Environmental Criminal Law
    • Labour Criminal Law
    • Bankruptcy Criminal Law
    • Tax Criminal Law
    • Copyright Criminal Law
    • Company Law
    • Commercial Law
  • Work with us
  • References
  • FAQ
  • Blog
  • Contacts
logologologo

  • Ita
  • Eng

  • Home
  • The Firm
    • Professionals
    • Att. at law Prof. Federico Stella
  • Services
    • Corporate Criminal Law
    • Environmental Criminal Law
    • Labour Criminal Law
    • Bankruptcy Criminal Law
    • Tax Criminal Law
    • Copyright Criminal Law
    • Company Law
    • Commercial Law
  • Work with us
  • References
  • FAQ
  • Blog
  • Contacts
logologologo

  • Ita
  • Eng

  • Home
  • The Firm
    • Professionals
    • Att. at law Prof. Federico Stella
  • Services
    • Corporate Criminal Law
    • Environmental Criminal Law
    • Labour Criminal Law
    • Bankruptcy Criminal Law
    • Tax Criminal Law
    • Copyright Criminal Law
    • Company Law
    • Commercial Law
  • Work with us
  • References
  • FAQ
  • Blog
  • Contacts
  • Home
  • The Firm
    • Professionals
    • Att. at law Prof. Federico Stella
  • Services
    • Corporate Criminal Law
    • Environmental Criminal Law
    • Labour Criminal Law
    • Bankruptcy Criminal Law
    • Tax Criminal Law
    • Copyright Criminal Law
    • Company Law
    • Commercial Law
  • Work with us
  • References
  • FAQ
  • Blog
  • Contacts
by layer22
Copyright Criminal Law, Corporate Criminal Law, Environmental Criminal Law, Labour Criminal Law, Law, Legal services Bankruptcy Criminal Law, Tax Criminal Law5 October 20210 comments 0 Likes

The importance of scientific knowledge in criminal trials

High technical skills are now an essential requirement in a multitude of cases concerning criminal proceedings, such as events related to crimes to protect health and safety in the workplace, environmental crimes or even corporate and bankruptcy crimes. In this context, “scientific knowledge” is utterly crucial for all the figures involved, from lawyers to prosecutors, to judges.

Having to deal with issues that are very technical and far from legal competence per se puts criminal law operators in the condition of expanding their culture and training. They also have to rely on additional specialists for specific subjects, appointing them as experts or partisan consultants during trials.

And it is precisely the confrontation between legal professionals and “technical” experts – through the hearings of the latter and the acquisition of their reports – that has generated a complex debate on the role of scientific evidence in law.

What does scientific proof in the judicial field mean?

Jurisprudence includes in the category of scientific proof all the evidence that, starting from a proven fact, must use a scientific law to ascertain or confirm a further fact yet to be proven.

In fact, the criminal trial Judge does not have specific technical-scientific knowledge and must therefore base their assessment on the opinion and competence of the experts or partisan technical consultants. In this sense, the Judge is not an advocate of a scientific law but a user. Starting from the famous Cozzini ruling, this principle is now consolidated.

The concept has been confirmed by the reasons recently given by the Court of Cassation concerning the well-known story of the Viareggio massacre.

“On the level of principles, it should be remembered that the teaching of the jurisprudence of legitimacy has now become common heritage, at least for the operators of law, according to which the Judge is precluded from becoming the maker of the scientific law necessary for assessment in the judgments due to expert knowledge. Since the Judge is the bearer of a “legitimate ignorance” concerning scientific knowledge, it is a matter of evaluating the scientific authority of the expert who transfers their knowledge of science into the trial; but also understanding, especially in the most problematic cases, if the proposed statements find common acceptance in the scientific community.”

“From this point of view, the Judge is effectively and in the highest sense peritus peritorum: the guardian and guarantor of the scientificity of the factual knowledge expressed by the trial”, highlighting that “the evidence that the parties are required to provide cannot be other than what the Judge needs. (…) If the Judge needs to know which is the most accredited scientific thesis in the community of scholars, the party who intends to appeal to that thesis has the burden of proving such accreditation while the other party can and must resist (also) on that ground.”

It is undoubtedly a difficult task, both for the Judge called to deliberate on a specific matter and for the parties who, through the appropriate skills, have to demonstrate the greater authority of the scientific thesis supported by their experts.

During the same sentence, the Supreme Court also recalled that:

“The sentence can only be pronounced when the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This implies that the statement of responsibility presupposes – limited to the point under consideration – that it is acquired beyond any reasonable doubt that the cover law on which the accusatory approach is built is seen as the most accredited by the scientific community. (…)”

“It is therefore necessary to demonstrate only the marginality – not on a logical level but a comparative level – of the other theses in circulation. On the other hand, for the defense it is sufficient to demonstrate the existence of serious doubt regarding the greater fortune of the theory wielded by the prosecution (…) So that the doubt that may be sufficient to make the accusation fail belongs to the rank of scientific explanation that one would like to be used by the Judge.”

In conclusion, what we illustrated so far highlights the increasingly central role played by the professionals involved in criminal trials that have very complex scientific matters as their subject.

Contact us now

Share
Tax crimes, update of the organizational model and administrative liabilities of entitiesPrev

Latest Posts

by StudioStella

Copyright: what it is, how long it lasts, what it protects

We often hear about copyright, but the underlying concept of copyright may not always be clear: what exactly is it about? Does it have a specific duration?...

Copyright: what it is, how long it lasts, what it protects

Copyright Criminal Law, Law6 October 2020
Share
by layer22

Guarantees and criminal liability of the person in charge of workplace safety

The legislation on the prevention of accidents in the workplace aims to establish a network of guarantors who can deal in a timely and effective manner with...

Guarantees and criminal liability of the person in charge of workplace safety

Labour Criminal Law, Law19 March 2021
Share
by layer22

What is Copyright Criminal Law and why it is important

In our blog, we have previously dealt with copyright, exploring its definition and duration and its scope of protection. The term “Copyright” identifies...

What is Copyright Criminal Law and why it is important

Copyright Criminal Law, Law17 April 2021
Share
logo Studio Legale Stella

Stella Law Associates support multinational companies and managers of medium and large enterprises in solving problems both of a criminal and, when needed, civil nature, either judicial or preventive and extrajudicial.

Offices

Via Alberto da Giussano 15
20145 Milano MI – Italy

info@studiolegalestella.it

+39 02 48013440
+39 02 4819040
+39 02 4819066

Services

  • Corporate Criminal Law
  • Environmental Criminal Law
  • Labour Criminal Law
  • Bankruptcy Criminal Law
  • Tax Criminal Law
  • Copyright Criminal Law
  • Company Law
  • Commercial Law

Latest from the Blog

  • Improper bankruptcy for malicious transactions
    Improper bankruptcy for malicious transactions
  • The importance of scientific knowledge in criminal trials
    The importance of scientific knowledge in criminal trials
  • Tax crimes, update of the organizational model and administrative liabilities of entities
    Tax crimes, update of the organizational model and administrative liabilities of entities

© 2020 Stella Law Associates | VAT no. 05535570963 | SEO by Naxa

Privacy Policy • Cookie Policy