The event was attended by people’s deputies of Ukraine, representatives of the Administration of the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Secretariat, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, other interested ministries and departments, regional offices of forensic medical examination, higher medical schools and post-graduate schools, the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, the WHO Country Office in Ukraine, the mass media and the public.
According to the current legislation, forensic medical examination is one of the evidence in the trial, civil or criminal proceedings. But it becomes especially important in the investigation of cases connected with the crimes against life and health of citizens, when only forensic medical expert or expert committee can give answers on the reason of the person’s death, the gravity of physical injuries caused, presence of medical errors and their connection with the harmful effects of treatment, etc.
Forensic medical expert activities should be based on legality of appointment of the examination, scientific substantiation of its results, independence and impartiality of experts and completeness of the examination.
Contrary to Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine "On legal expertise," which reads that forensic medical examination is carried out exclusively by state specialized institutions, the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On the distribution of state property of Ukraine between the state (republican) property and the property of administrative territorial units (communal property)" of November 5, 1991 No. 311 transfers regional and town offices of forensic medical examination into the communal property.
Thus, having abolished the Soviet model of forensic medical service of Ukraine, they have not established a new one. Centrifugal tendencies led to the destruction of the forensic medical service as an integral system, negatively influenced the development of material and technical base of most offices and the quality of examinations. The provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On legal expertise" concerning logistical support to the experts as part of their independence is rather declarative.
Each country historically, in accordance with national legal features, had formed its organizational and legal model of the forensic medical expert service. For example, in Australia operates the Institute of Forensic Medicine, in Spain - the National Forensic Medicine Corps and the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Science, in Sweden – the National Board of Forensic Medicine, in Kazakhstan - the Center of Forensic Medicine, in Georgia - the National Bureau of Forensic Medicine. In none of these countries forensic examination is subordinated to the Ministry of Health. Reforms, which had been carried out in nearly all the countries of post-Soviet area, have guaranteed independence of forensics and improved logistical support of the service.
So, the reform of legislation regulating the forensic medical expert activity is extremely important.
It is time to create an integral independent state expert service that will perform forensic medical activities using transparent mechanisms of its work’s organization and will satisfy the need of the society in a fair, impartial conduct of forensic examinations of causes of death, gravity of injuries, etc.
The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Public Health in collaboration with leading experts in the field of forensic medical examination, the Association of Forensic Medical Experts of Ukraine has prepared a draft law on the forensic medical expert activity.
Participants of the round table meeting, having discussed the current state of forensic medical examination in Ukraine, came to a conclusion on the importance of making legislative amendments aimed at creation of a system of public specialized institutions of forensic medical examination and their merging into a National Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination.
Following the round table meeting they adopted a resolution in which proposed the people's deputies of Ukraine - members of the Committee on Public Health to ensure submission of the corresponding draft law for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine’s consideration and do their best for its approval.