Ukraine's Ministry of Justice will create center for independent forensic examinations

He wrote about this on Facebook.

"A forensic expert is a key figure in any criminal proceeding, whose illegal actions can ruin any well-founded case or, conversely, give a procedural perspective to a hopeless and unfounded one. Risks of corruption or political influence on forensic expertise must be eradicated. We are launching a pilot - an expert institution with built-in guarantees of independence," said Maliuska.

According to him, the key issues of the institution's activities will be decided by the supervisory board, in which international organizations will be invited to form the majority.

The head of the institution will be elected by the supervisory board, employees will have high salaries, and there will be periodic integrity checks of management and experts (including polygraphs).

He added that the Ministry of Justice's influence on the activities of the expert institution will be limited as much as possible, and the institution will focus on high-profile crimes where there are high risks of unlawful influence on the expert.

"If the model works effectively, we will extend the practice to other institutions. The Cabinet of Ministers has issued a decree to establish the Research Center for Independent Expertise. We also have a detailed pilot concept, roadmap and premises. We are preparing changes to the regulations by the end of the year, and next year we will establish a supervisory board, purchase equipment, and hire staff," the Minister of Justice emphasized.

According to Maliuska, this is one of the most important reforms in the short term.

• In June, the Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit with the High Anti-Corruption Court to confiscate the assets of VS Energy's owners, Russian oligarchs Babakov, Giner and Voevodin, to the state.