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Expert registers in criminal cases. Governance in criminal proceedings

Abstract by Dr. J.A. Nijboer, Prof. Dr. B.F. Keulen, Dr. H.K. Elzinga, LL.M. and Dr. N.J.M. Kwakman, LL.M

On 1 January 2010 a Dutch national public register of expert witnesses was created as a result of the new Expert Witness in Criminal Cases Act. The creation of this register can be seen as an example of (good) governance in criminal proceedings. The department of Criminal Law and Criminology of the Law Faculty of the University of Groningen has conducted an ex ante evaluation of this new register. In this research a comparison of expert registers has been made between five national systems – besides The Netherlands also Belgium, Germany, France and England and Wales. Furthermore, key figures from the Dutch criminal justice system, the public prosecutor’s office, the legal profession, forensic science (expertise on DNA), forensic psychology and the team behind the register were interviewed extensively about their aims and expectations regarding the future functioning of the Dutch register. Our research revealed a number of operational, product and system aims which more or less resemble key factors for good governance like efficiency and effectiveness, organisational capacity, reliability, predictability and the rule of law, participation, accountability, transparency and open information systems. It is debatable whether an expert register on the European level can be an attractive option. For many fields of expertise, the question whether governance of expertise can be furthered through a European expert register probably has to be answered in the negative.

The working paper 'Expert registers in criminal cases. Governance in criminal proceedings' can be found here.

Last modified:07 June 2019 10.34 a.m.