І. The rules of criminal proceedings in the territory of Ukraine shall be defined exclusively by the criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine

Article 242 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine states:

1. The examination shall be conducted by an expert institution, expert, or experts, involved by the parties to the criminal proceedings or the investigating judge at the request of the defense in cases, and following the procedure provided for Article 244 of this Code, where special knowledge is required to clarify the circumstances important for criminal proceedings. It is not allowed to conduct expert examinations for addressing issues related to the law.
2. The investigator or public prosecutor shall commit expertise to conduct an examination in respect of:

• • establishing causes of death
  • establishing gravity and the nature of bodily injuries
  • ascertaining the mental state of the suspect upon the availability of information that casts doubt on his/her sanity or limited capacity
  • ascertaining the age of a person insofar as it is necessary to dispose of the issue relating to his/her criminal liability whenever it is impossible to have such information otherwise
  • determination of the amount of pecuniary damages, where the victim cannot determine them and has not provided a document confirming the amount of such damage, the amount of non-pecuniary damage, and environmental damage caused by a criminal offense

3. Compulsory conduct of a medical or psychiatric expertise examination shall be undertaken upon investigating the judge’s or court’s ruling.

Article 243 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine states:

1. An expert shall be involved where there are grounds for conducting an examination on behalf of a party to the criminal proceedings.
2. The defense party shall have the right to engage experts on a contractual basis to conduct an examination, including the mandatory one.
3. An expert may be engaged by the investigating judge at the request of the defense in cases and in the manner prescribed by Article 244 hereof.

ІІ.  The Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine determines the jurisdiction and powers of general courts in civil disputes and other cases stipulated by this Code and establishes the procedure for civil proceedings

Article 105 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine states:

The appointment of an expert examination by a court shall be obligatory in the case of a petition for the appointment of an expert examination by both parties. The appointment of an examination by a court shall also be mandatory at the request of at least one of the parties if the case requires the establishment of the following:

• the nature and degree of damage to health
• the mental condition of the person
•  the age of the person, if there are no relevant documents, and it is impossible to obtain them

Article 106 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine states:

1. A case party shall have the right to submit to the court an expert conclusion drawn up at his/her request.

2. The procedure for conducting the expert examination and drawing up the expert conclusions based on the results of the conducted expert examination shall be determined under the current legislation of Ukraine on conducting forensic expert examinations.

3. The expert conclusion based on the expert examination results, during which the object of examination, which is evidence in the case, was completely or partially destroyed, or its properties were changed, shall not replace the evidence itself and shall not be grounds for exemption from the burden of proof.

4. The expert conclusion based on the expert examination results, during which the object of examination was completely or partially destroyed, or its properties changed, shall not be considered by the court, except in cases when the person submitting it proves the possibility of additional and repeated expert examination on the issues investigated in the expert conclusion.

5. The expert conclusion shall state that the conclusion has been prepared for submission to the court and that the expert is aware of the criminal responsibility for a knowingly false conclusion.

6. An expert who has drawn up a conclusion on the application of a case party shall have the same rights and obligations as an expert who carries out the expert examination on the basis of a court ruling.

7. Upon the case party’s application on the existence of grounds for dismissal of the expert who prepared the conclusion on behalf of another person, such a conclusion shall not be accepted by the court for consideration if the court recognizes the existence of such grounds.

ІІІ. The legal, organizational, and financial principles of judicial examination activity are defined by the Law of Ukraine “On Forensic Expertise”

Article 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On Forensic Expertise” states:

1. Forensic activities that are part of forensic psychiatric examinations are carried out exclusively by specialized state institutions.
2. These specialized state institutions are the forensic psychiatric institutions of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine “On Forensic Expertise” states:

1. Forensic examinations in criminal proceedings, carried out by specialized institutions at the request of the investigator, coroner, prosecutor, and court, as well as the examinations in cases on administrative offenses, are paid from the funds allocated for this purpose in the State Budget of Ukraine.
2. Forensic examinations, check-ups,  and studies in criminal proceedings carried out by specialized institutions at the request of the suspects, accused, convicted, acquitted, their defenders, legal representatives, victims, or their representatives are paid at the expense of the petitioner.

ІV. The forensic examination procedure is approved by the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine of 23 December 2025 №1935

1. When required and in compliance with Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Forensic Expertise”, forensic examination may be conducted at the location of the person for whom the FE is appointed, provided that the expert has full access to this location.
2. Forensic examinations are conducted at the state institution “Institute of Forensic Psychiatry of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine” and its regional branches (hereinafter referred to as the expert institution) by individuals who meet the requirements set in Article 10 of the Law on Forensic Expertise and work as forensic experts according to the List of Positions of Forensic Experts in State Specialized Institutions of Forensic Psychiatric and Forensic Psychological Examination of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, approved by Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 1935 of 23 December 2025.
3. Subject of forensic examination:

• • forensic psychiatric examination – the mental state of a person at specific legally significant periods of time, determined to answer questions posed by a person or an institution that engaged the expert(s), or by the investigating judge or court that ordered the examination, including in matters concerning the determination of the severity of bodily injury in cases where the injury caused a mental disorder
  • forensic psychological examination – psychological patterns and characteristics of mental activity during specific legally significant periods of time, determined to answer questions posed by a person or an institution that engaged the expert(s), or by an investigating judge or court that ordered the examination
  • comprehensive forensic psychological and psychiatric examination – mental state, psychological patterns and characteristics of a person’s mental activity during specific legally significant periods of time, determined to answer questions posed by a person or an institution that engaged the expert(s), or by the investigating judge or court that ordered the examination

4. The chief of the expert institution reviews the materials received, evaluates the procedural document on forensic examination assignment, and decides on the quantitative team of experts (single or commission) and the determination of a specific forensic expert (experts) who is (are) charged with conducting the forensic examination (unless otherwise specified in the procedural document).
5. When conducting a comprehensive forensic examination, the chief of the expert institution appoints the chair of the commission, the members of the commission, and the expert speaker. When conducting a comprehensive forensic psychological and psychiatric examination, both a forensic psychiatrist (one of the experts) and a forensic psychologist (one of the experts) are appointed as expert rapporteurs. The chair of the commission may act as the expert speaker.
6. A forensic expert (experts) who is (are) assigned to conduct a forensic examination within one working day shall assess whether there are grounds for his/ her (their) recusal provided for in Article 79 the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine or Article 38 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine (depending on the case category or proceedings for which the forensic examination is conducted) and whether he or she has an actual or potential conflict of interest.
7. If the materials provided by the customer are insufficient for a complete evaluation and for providing reasonable and objective conclusions, the forensic expert (experts) shall submit a request to the customer for additional materials and other actions related to the examination and, when required and agreed with the customer, shall give back the materials provided for the examination to the customer.
8. Deadlines for conducting forensic examination:

• • outpatient forensic psychiatric and comprehensive forensic psychological and psychiatric examinations – up to 5 calendar days from the date of the customer’s provision of all materials required for a complete examination and the provision of reasoned and objective conclusions. Depending on the complexity of this examination and the volume of objects submitted for evaluation, this deadline may be extended to 10 calendar days with notification of the customer
  • inpatient forensic psychiatric and inpatient comprehensive forensic psychological and psychiatric examinations – up to 2 months, unless the ruling of an investigating judge or court establishes a shorter deadline;
  • postmortal forensic psychiatric and comprehensive forensic psychological and psychiatric examination – up to 10 calendar days from the date of the customer’s provision of all materials required for a complete examination and provision of reasonable and objective conclusions. Depending on the complexity of this examination and the volume of objects submitted for evaluation, this deadline may be extended to 20 calendar days with notification of the customer
  • forensic psychological examination – up to 5 calendar days from the date of the customer’s provision of all materials required for a complete examination and provision of substantiated and objective conclusions. Depending on the complexity of this examination and the volume of its objects submitted for evaluation, this deadline may be extended to 10 calendar days with notification of the customer
  • forensic psychological examination, which requires the examination and analysis of video materials using appropriate methods for conducting this examination, or a forensic psychological examination appointed in relation to a deceased person – up to 10 calendar days from the date of the customer’s provision of all materials required for a complete examination and the provision of reasonable and objective conclusions. Depending on the complexity of thіs examination and the volume of objects submitted for evaluation, this deadline may be extended to 20 calendar days with notification of the customer
  • forensic examination in criminal proceedings regarding a person in custody, a minor, or related to a criminal offense committed against a minor or juvenile – immediately (but no later than 24 hours).

9. Expert report:
   • once a forensic psychiatric examination is completed, a forensic psychiatric expert’s report shall be drawn up within 5 calendar days in the form of primary accounting documentation No. 100/o “Expert report No. ___ based on the results of the forensic psychiatric examination”, approved by Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 1935 dated 23 December 2025.  Depending on the complexity of this examination and the volume of objects submitted for evaluation, this deadline may be extended to 10 calendar days with notification of the customer
   • once a forensic psychological examination is completed, a forensic psychologist’s report shall be drawn up within 5 calendar days in the form of primary accounting documentation No. 100-4/o “Expert report No. ___ based on the results of the forensic psyhological examination”, approved by Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 1935 dated 23 December 2025. Depending on the complexity of this examination and the volume of objects submitted for evaluation, this deadline may be extended to 10 calendar days with notification of the customer
   • once a comprehensive forensic psychological and psychiatric examination is completed, an expert report shall be drawn up within 5 calendar days in the form of primary accounting documentation No. 100-5/o “Expert report No. ___ based on the results of the comprehensive forensic psyhological and psychiatric examination”, approved by Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 1935 dated 23 December 2025. Depending on the complexity of this examination and the volume of objects submitted for evaluation, this deadline may be extended to 10 calendar days with notification of the customer

10. In the event of discrepancies:
    • between forensic psychiatric experts while conducting a commission forensic psychiatric examination, the forensic psychiatrists’ report shall incorporate answers to the questions of each of them (according to the number of points of view), with the relevant justification
    • between forensic psychologists while conducting a commission forensic psychological examination, the forensic psychologists’ report shall incorporate answers to the questions of each of them (according to the number of points of view)б with the relevant justification
    • between forensic psychiatric experts or forensic psychologists when several forensic experts of the relevant specialty are involved, the report shall incorporate answers to the questions of each of them (according to the number of points of view), with the relevant justification

11. Once the expert report is prepared, the materials provided for the forensic examination shall be returned to the customer along with the report within three calendar days.

12. Communication between the customer and the expert institution or forensic expert (experts) takes place by means of an electronic document flow system and a unified judicial information and telecommunications system.

V. Forensic examinations under a contract

1. Under Article 7¹ of the Law of Ukraine “On Forensic Expertise”, the grounds for conducting a forensic examination are a contract with an expert institution.
2. Under the provisions of Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine “On Forensic Expertise”:
   • forensic examinations, evaluations, and assessments in criminal proceedings at the request of a suspect, accused, convicted, acquitted person, their defense counsel, legal representative, victim, or his/her representative shall be conducted at the expense of the client
   • costs of forensic examinations in civil and commercial trials shall be reimbursed under the procedure provided for by the governing law
   • other expert evaluations and assessments by state-owned specialized institutions shall be conducted at the expense of the client
   • state-owned specialized institutions shall perform other work on a contract basis

3. Under Part 2 of Article 102 and Article 106 of the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine, an expert report may be prepared at the request of a party to the case, and this party has the right to submit to the court that expert report prepared at his or her request.
4. Under Article 243 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the defense party has the right to independently involve experts on a contractual basis to conduct an examination, including the mandatory one.
5. The conclusion, amendment, and termination of a contract between the applicant and the Institute shall be carried out following the general rules under Chapter 53 of Book Five of the Civil Code of Ukraine.
6. The applicant’s suggestion to conclude a contract with the Institute (petition) shall specify the client’s details, the list of questions to the expert, and, if available, the documents required for the examination.