Consideration of Retrospectivity in Judicial Commodity Expertise

Abstract

Retrospective assessment is a study conducted on the basis of specialised knowledge in the field of commodity science, which involves determining a specific set of characteristics of an object sufficient to establish its market value on a specific date in the past. This is a labour-intensive process based on knowledge of general economic patterns, theoretical principles of commodity science and the practical skills of a commodity expert. Avoiding mistakes when conducting a forensic commodity expertise with a view to retrospectivity will help improve the quality of expert work, ensure proper interaction between experts and enterprises, institutions and organisations regardless of their form of ownership, and reduce the number of reports on the impossibility of conducting an expertise. This, in turn, will contribute to establishing the objective truth in court cases and increasing the effectiveness of independent assessment.

The article clarifies the peculiarities of taking into account retrospectivity when conducting a judicial commodity expertise, analyses the main difficulties that arise in practice when evaluating objects on a date other than the date of the study. A number of practical and effective tools for solving typical expert tasks are proposed, and the basic conditions, limitations and assumptions for performing retrospective property valuation are defined. The feasibility of using both direct and indirect research methods is justified. Practical recommendations are provided for forensic institutions on improving the effectiveness of retrospective studies, improving organisational procedures and the correctness of the expert's conclusion, which ensures its evidential value in court proceedings.