Publication details
Praxe a vzdělávání soudních znalců v oblasti psychiatrie a psychologie
| Title in English | Practice and training of forensic experts in psychiatry and psychology |
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| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Expert witnesses are an important part of legal proceeding. To be a useful tool they must meet the requirements of quality - "validity" and "reliability". These conditions are fulfilled by the expertness of psychologists/psychiatrists. The text analyzes the basic requirements on expert witnesses in the field of psychology and psychiatry with an emphasis on education and specialization. Attention is also paid to the problematic aspects of nomination, selection and training of experts. Subsequently, the reliability of expertise in the Czech legal environment is assessed. The evidence of mutual accordance and disagreement of expertise conclusions in the ratio of 13:1 proves high proficiency and competence of expert witnesses in the fields of psychiatry, and psychology. The forensic psychiatry and psychology are justified in the legal system of the Czech Republic, and the results of expert assessment describe the reality objectively (in terms of achieving the same result by different experts). Despite this positive findings there are also weak points in the forensic experts system. The main problem is complicated structure of the group of psychology expert witnesses with a vague classification, and professional specialization. Also the problems associated with the specifics of forensic psychology may cause some problems. The constitution of specialized education in the field of forensic psychology seems to be beneficial. |