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Forensic Science Regulator legal guidance

Guidance on legal obligations for expert witnesses and those involved in forensic pathology investigations.

Updates to this page

From:
Forensic Science Regulator
Published:
10 December 2012
Last updated:
15 February 2021
Show all updates

  1. Joint statement guidance added.

  2. Legal issues in forensic pathology and tissue retention issue 4 guidance added and issue 3 archived.

  3. Added issue 8.

  4. Non-expert technical statements: issue 2 and expert report content: issue 4 added.

  5. New expert report content: issue 3 guidance.

  6. Legal obligations issue 6 now archived.

  7. New legal obligations issue 7 added.

  8. New expert report content guidance, issue 2.

  9. New issue 6 on legal obligations and archive of issue 5 version.

  10. Guidance on expert and non-expert reports and statements published.

  11. Legal obligations issue 5 added.

  12. Legal obligations issue 4 added.

  13. First published.

This collection includes guidance issued by the Forensic Science Regulator on dealing with legal issues which can arise in the practice of forensic science and forensic pathology.

There are 2 different classes of guidance issued by the regulator:

  • guidance on legal obligations
  • guidance on legal issues in forensic pathology and tissue retention

This applies to expert witnesses acting in the criminal justice system in England and Wales. It provides information on the requirements imposed by:

  • the statute
  • case law
  • criminal procedure rules
  • criminal practice directions

Archived guidance

This guidance is now out of date. You should only refer to these versions to find out what this guidance said at the time of a specific case.

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