The specifics of the legal responsibility of an expert as a subject of civil law relations

Introduction. In modern society, experts play an important role in various fields of activity; the outcome of the case largely depends on the accuracy, correctness, and objectivity of the expert’s conclusions. One of the important ways to ensure legality in the system of expert activity is the responsibility of the expert. Considerable attention is paid to the study of the issue of legal responsibility of an expert for the violation of his duties in criminal and civil proceedings in legal science. At the same time, the expert may be a participant in civil-law relations, which requires the ascertainment of the specifics of property liability. The purpose of the study is to analyze the legal liability that can be applied to an expert for non-performance or improper performance of his duties in civil law relations. Methods. The methodological framework for the research is the tools of a systematic approach, as well as a set of general scientific (analysis and synthesis, induction, deduction, etc.) methods of scientific cognition. Results. Based on the legal analysis of the norms of domestic law and the approaches developed in the doctrine, the characteristic features of the civil liability of an expert are identified; the recommendations are developed regarding the improvement of the provisions of the legislation on the responsibility of an expert. Conclusions. The activity of an expert as a participant in civil law relations requires the ascertainment of property liability for non-preparation or poor-quality preparation of an expert opinion; to improve the work of an expert and improve the quality, it is necessary to introduce into the legislation a norm on the property liability of an expert for damage or destruction of the subjects of examination submitted for research (materials and documents).