The Main Tasks of Forensic Research Conducted in Trials on Land Disputes

The article provides a list and details the content of tasks solved within the forensic land survey and construction examinations assigned during trials on land disputes. Said tasks are classified by the type of conducted research.  The work of a forensic expert in a case begins with the establishment of presence (absence) of the object of examination (the existential task). At first, the presence of title, legal, and other documents for the disputed land and buildings (structures) located on it is established. In the absence of certain documents necessary for the study, the expert takes measures to replace them. When conducting field studies, the expert establishes the existence of civil dispute’s objects on the ground. After that, the expert solves the identification task – establishes the identity of these objects with their documentary display. It also should be identified to which specific class, kind, type the object belongs (addressing classification task) – it allows verifying the category of land and the type of permitted use of the disputed land; recognizing the kind, type, and functional purpose of the construction objects located on it.  The solution of the attributive task aims at identifying the properties of the objects under examination, which relate to its subject, the content of questions raised by the court before the expert. The solution of the situational task helps to establish the relative position of objects. The expert determines whether there is an intersection of the borders of adjacent plots, sets the distance from construction sites to the boundaries of the land. Particular attention is paid to structures that are sources of negative impact on the neighboring property. The position of the property regarding the zones with special conditions of the use is also to be determined. The purpose of addressing the diagnostic task is to ascertain the condition of the land in terms of possibility to use it for its intended purpose taking into account the type of permitted use and to determine the technical condition of construction objects located on the land plot. The cost task solution aims at determining the market, and other value of the land, the number of costs required to restore the land after being exposed to destructive natural and technogenic factors. The main direction of research when solving the transformative task is to ascertain the possibility and develop options for a real division of the land plot and the construction sites located on it between their owners following the conditions set by the court.  

1. Ball G.A. On the Psychological Content of the Concept of “Task”. Voprosy Psychologii. 1970. No. 6. P. 75–86. (In Russ.)

2. Leont’ev A.N. Activity. Consciousness. Personality. Moscow: Politizdat, 1975. 304 p. (In Russ.)

3. Orlov Yu.K. The Use of Specialized Knowledge in Criminal Proceedings: Textbook. Issue 2. Forensic Expertise: General Concepts. Moscow: MGUA, 2004. 24 p. (In Russ.)

4. Koldin V.Ya. The Tasks of Expert Research. In: Smirnova S.A. (ed). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Forensic Science Theory. The Multimodal Publication Forensic Examination: Reboot. Part 2. Moscow: EKOM, 2012. P. 107–108. (In Russ.)

5. Wehrmann B. Land Conflicts: A Practical Guide to Dealing with Land Disputes. Eschborn: GTZ, 2008. 122 p.

6. Baranyi S., Weitzner V. Transforming Land-Related Conflict: Policy, Practice and Possibilities. Ottawa: North-South Institute, 2006. 34 p.

7. McEntyre J.G., McNair A.J. Land Surveying and Land Registration. Journal of the Surveying and Mapping Division. 1963. Vol. 89. No. 1. P. 59–76.

8. Chudievich A.R., Butyrin A.Yu., Khamidova D.V. Forensic Issues of Categorizing Construction Projects as Permanent Structures: Metho-dological Guidelines for Forensic Examiners. Theory and Practice of Forensic Science. 2018. Vol. 13. No. 1. P. 41–51. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.30764/1819-2785-2018-13-1-41-51

9. Krasnova I.O., Misnik G.A., Vlasenko V.N. (eds). The Practice of Resolving Land Disputes: A Scientific and Practical Guide. Moscow: RGUP, 2019. 172 p. (In Russ.)

10. Keith K.L. Government Land Surveys and Related Problems. Iowa Law Review. 1952. Vol. 38. No. 1. P. 86–115.

11. Nie Y., Song Z., Wang K., Diao H., Ren L. The Practice about Some Technical Problems in Current Land Use Database. China Land Science. 2002. No. 2. P. 26–29.

12. Lyubchenko M.Ya. Interaction of the European Court for Human Rights and National Judicial Jurisdictions. Monograph. Moscow: Yurlitinform, 2019. 198 p. (In Russ.)

13. Davison J. Illegal Structures. Multi-Storey Building Management. 1990. Vol. 3. No. 2. P. 43–58.

14. Petr P., Horák O., Dostalík P. Divided Ownership – Development and Perspectives. DANUBE: Law, Economics and Social Issues Review. 2018. Vol. 9. No. 2. P. 81–95. https://doi.org/10.2478/danb-2018-0006

15. Butyrin A.Yu., Grabbe T.A., Popova I.I., Khisheva O.I., Kovalenko O.P., Bratskaya I.G., Popov A.N., Shipilova I.A. The Determination of Technical Possibility and Developing Options to Transform a Residential Building as an Element of a Homeownership Following the Conditions Set by the Court. Methodological Recommendations for Experts. In: Butyrin A.Yu. (ed). Collection of Methodical Recommendations for the Production of Judicial Construction and Technical Expertise. Moscow: RFCFS, 2012. P. 55–96. (In Russ.)

16. Alleaume P., Bodin O., Jarrault M., Klein B. Expertise Construction: Responsabilités, Dommages Ouvrage, Expertise et Rapports. Paris: Le Moniteur, 2013. 358 p.