The Criminal Risks and Protection of the Expert Witness
The figure of the expert witness is addressed from both sides: the expert's conclusion is often the decisive evidence in a case, and the legislator therefore builds a two-sided criminal regime around the expert. On one side, Article 370 of the Criminal Code regulates the expert's own liability — a false conclusion or false testimony, and the deliberate or negligent endangering of the object of expert examination, constitute obstruction of justice. On the other side, Article 372 protects the person subjected to influence — persuasion, bribery or coercion of an expert (or a witness, an examined person or an interpreter). Between these two norms lies the boundary on which the expert's position stands. It should be noted that the special admissibility standards for expert evidence known from United States evidence law acquire no analogue in Georgian law — the qualification and appointment of experts follow the procedural regime, which is not the subject of this page.