The legitimacy of identifying scientific and specialised knowledge in assessing the competence of a forensic expert

The paper presents an analysis of the issues associated with the correlation of special and scientific knowledge in the context of forensic activity. It is proposed that special knowledge comprises three principal elements: scientific knowledge derived from the forensic expert science and forensic subject disciplines, in addition to the skills and abilities acquired during the production of forensic examinations. It is recommended that the text of the draft federal law 'On Forensic Expert Activity in the Russian Federation' include provisions reflecting the relationship between the concepts of 'special knowledge' and 'competence'.