Kriminalistika ir teismo ekspertizė Ukrainoje: istorija ir šiuolaikinės tendencijos

The article is dedicated to the problems of formation and the present state of criminalistics, forensics and forensic sciences in Ukraine. The historical antecedents and peculiarities of scientific (special) knowledge application in crime prevention, formation of different forensic sciences (forensic medicine, forensic psychiatry, forensic psychology, forensic toxicology, forensic chemistry, forensic accounting and others) are addressed. The relationship of criminalistics, forensics and forensic sciences is analyzed, and their role in the current context is defined. The functional purpose of criminalistics, forensics and forensic sciences makes it possible to determine the directions and trends of their development. Currently, criminalistics, forensics and forensic sciences are designed to provide the legal practice with the latest tools, techniques and technologies in various jurisdictional processes, contribute to the optimization of pre-trial, trial and extrajudicial proceedings, to improve the performance of employees of law enforcement and expert services. Formation and development of criminalistics and other forensic sciences in Ukraine reflects their integrative function. The development of criminalistics, its trends are due to the influence of information flows, technological progress of society. Digital criminalistics, the use of digital evidence, protection of information sources and the problem of information security should become an important direction. The article considers the role of national and European non-governmental organizations in the development of criminalistics, forensics and forensic sciences in approximation to the common European space