Establishing the Reliability of the Testimony of Minors in the Course of Forensic Psychological Examination

Abstract

Introduction: the paper analyzes the problems of developing the criteria for establishing the reliability of the testimony of minors in the performance of forensic psychological examination. In search of these criteria, the authors discuss the existing theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of the credibility of the minor victims, the offenders and witnesses; analyze the legal aspects of forensic psychological examination of the testimony of persons under age, for their validity and reliability. Using the method of scientific knowledge, first of all comparative law, the official statistics of the investigative actions involving minors participating in the criminal proceedings in different status are analyzed. In addition, the paper uses the formal logical method. Results: the features of minors that determine the procedure for performing expert examination, including the specifics of the child’s personality and the level of its psychological and intellectual development, emotional state, are identified. Conclusions: the analyzed specific excerpts from the conclusions of the expert examinations allowed us to identify the criteria for the reliability of the testimony of minors and analyze the specifics of the experts’ approaches to this procedure.