Based on the example analysis of a controversial text, the article addresses some linguistic phenomena making it challenging to interpert the texts, such as implicit expression of meaning, the incompleteness of the formal sentence structure, the presence of polysemantic components or linguistic components that require particular semanticizing or cognitive understanding. To precisely understand the controversial text and justify the results of linguistic research, it is necessary to overcome the mentioned factors’ negative influence. The meaning content of the analyzed text is twopronged: part of it has a non-explicit expression and involves a level of presuppositions of the text; therefore, the author of the article projected this content plan onto the communicative structure of the text using a description method based on the theory of rhetorical structures. As a result, an implicit content plan of the controversial text and the interpretation of its main controversial semantic components are presented. The analysis actualized several problematic issues related to the objectification of understanding a controversial text, which so far cannot be explicitly resolved. It is primarily the problem of the acceptability of the use of implicit information in a forensic perspective and the problem of eliminating the variability of the semantic understanding of controversial texts, the content of which is not explicit enough.

The article provides information on the decomposition of the narcotic α-pyrrolidinovalerophenone (α-PVP) in nasway and the results of the study of the decomposition rate for the drug in an alkaline environment. It is shown that in a week, the content of α-PVP in nasway reduces by almost two times, and in 1,5–2 months, it is not found in the sample. Similar results were acquired for aqueous alkaline solutions of α-PVP.

The information obtained can be useful for experts specializing in “research of narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors, potent and poisonous substances” when conducting examinations and research.

The article addresses the possibility of isolating extremism discourse as a specific kind of discourse. As criteria for such determination are proposed: a common subject, quantitative parameter (sufficient quantities of such texts), presence of a genre variety of texts of this discourse. The study material is the texts of the dialogue and monologue speech: correspondence on the Internet of interpersonal and public nature, articles. The linguistic analysis methods (lexical-semantic, stylistic, semantic, communicative-pragmatic analysis) were used to study the material. The main feature of extremism discourse is dialogicality, which is the relation of different semantic positions, consideration of the addressee’s position, consideration of the opponents, and implementation in the author’s dialogue. Forms of representation of dialogicality in texts and genres of the extremism discourse are considered. The study revealed the following features of the extremism discourse: significant roles of a addresser and addressee, the use of the strategies of self-presentation and discrimination by the communicants, the juxtaposition of “friends” and “strangers” groups, updating of the “friends” and “strangers” concepts.

This article addresses the pressing issue of reforming the system of regulation for construction activities. The author analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the existing opposing points of view: preserving the existing “rigid” system on the one hand, or its abolition – the transition to the “flexible” method of calculation justification of design decisions, on the other. The choice in favor of the second option will cause large-scale changes in the construction sector, hence – forensic construction activities. Such changes will undermine the entire forensic expertise institution because it will become impossible to comply with the basic principles of an expert’s work - scientific validity and reliability of conclusions. The author concludes that the current regulating system does not work not because of its shortcomings but for some other reasons: negligence in construction work conduct, non-compliance with the construction technology, lack of design documentation, and others. In order to improve the current situation concerning the regulation of forensic construction and technical examinations, the following measures have been proposed: revision and improvement of their methodological, theoretical, and legal foundations, in-depth analysis of the content of urban planning legislation from the point of view of requirements mandatory for application by a forensic expertbuilder, specifying the limits of an expert’s competence, the formation of unified algorithms and forms of presenting research, the development of sub-theories on the legal and organizational support of the nonstate forensic activity, the active involvement of research institutions and higher educational institutions in the conduct of expert examinations.

The layering of narcotic drugs in expert practice is mainly investigated to classify the object as a controlled one or prove a crime subject’s connection with drugs. However, the existing methodological approaches do not allow to differentiate the mechanisms of layering. The article reviews the most common types of drug traces detected on objects in forensic research. They include traces characterizing the purpose of the object, traces of interaction of psychoactive substances with the human body, and drug use traces. The characteristics of the qualitative and quantitative composition of these types of layers are identified. The features of drug traces on the objects of legal circulation are analyzed. Based on the analysis, the significance of drug traces on the objects-carriers in investigating crimes is demonstrated.

The article analyses arbitration courts’ practice on the assignment of forensic environmental investigations on cases concerning the compensation for environmental damage caused by various environmental violations. At present, such investigations are assigned quite often. However, in most cases, private experts conduct them since there are very few state environmental experts. The article addresses examples of forensic environmental investigations for particular cases: on the facts of discharge of wastewater and oil products into water bodies, deforestation. It is shown that when determining the amount of harm (damage), non-state experts rely on the methods of calculating approved by the Ministry of natural resources and ecology of the Russian Federation, although many experts point out the shortcomings of these methods. In contrast, the Ministry of Justice system’s environmental experts determine the cost of restoration for specific violated environmental objects.

The purpose of the study is to identify the matching and differing features of the concepts of “activity”, “algorithm”, “process”, “procedure”, “process approach” introduced into the theory of forensic examination by national and international standards of quality management systems and general requirements to testing and calibration labs for their subsequent adaptation to expert practice. The issue of the content of the term “process” in the theory of forensic examination, the basic principles and provisions of the process approach under the provisions of the standards: GOST R ISO IEC 17025- 2019 “General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories” and ISO 9001: 2015 “Quality management systems. Requirements” are addressed. The possibilities and advantages of introducing a process approach into forensic activity and forensic standard operating procedures are analyzed. The author concludes that forensic activity can be presented as a system of processes.

One of the factors adversely affecting the quality of crime investigations is the misuse and misapprehension of forensic evidence in proving. An essential part of solving this problem is a more effective use by investigative bodies of specialized knowledge in the form of forensic examinations. In particular, when investigating crimes concerning the violation of traffic rules and transport operation, an investigator should thoroughly evaluate an expert’s opinion in the field of transport and technical forensic examinations. The author studied the expert practice on these forensic examinations, indicating the existing significant number of expert opinions in the “probable” form. In the author’s opinion, the main reasons for such opinions are the presence of probable conclusions about the causes of the traffic accident in the materials of the internal investigation submitted for examination and the insufficient information content of the initial data. The analysis of the errors made by experts on forensic transport examinations indicates the need to study the received conclusions thoroughly, look closely not only into the conclusions themselves but also into the content of the research part, which will allow to timely recognize the incompetence of the study, detect technical errors, as well as the inconsistency with the conclusions on other circumstances established in a criminal case.

The article analyzes theoretical and practical aspects of assessing and using forensic experts’ opinions in investigation and trial on criminal cases of iatrogenic crimes. Summarized data on the content and stages of the experts’ opinions assessment is given, the features of the conclusions of forensic medical examinations assessment are noted. The absence of complexes of specialized forensic medical research methods of certain varieties of iatrogenic crimes concerning various medical practice areas is considered a factor that impedes the assessment of conclusions by the investigating bodies and court. The author states that evaluating expert opinions by investigators, prosecutors, and courts should not be limited to studying and analyzing only the text of the opinion. A large role is played by specialists’ involvement, interrogations of experts, and other investigative actions, together with the court examining other evidence.

The article reviews the contradictions between the procedural law and an attorney’s professional duty to use an opinion of a knowledgeable person in the system of criminal procedure protection. The paper provides an analysis of the problems and difficulties arising in the implementation of this right in the criminal process leading to violation of the equality and adversarial principles: the optionality of the defense’s right to involve a specialist; the biased attitude of law enforcement agencies to the expert presented by the defense; the desire to diminish the probative value of the specialist’s conclusion and testimony; the absence of an obligation for an investigator and court in all cases to attach the expert’s opinion to the case. The author emphasizes how important it is for all the participants in the criminal process to understand the expert’s opinion and testimony’s independent evidentiary value. Proposals that contribute to the legal specificity and further development of the specialist institution within the framework of the fundamental principles of competition and equality of the parties are presented.

The paper addresses the problem of assessing the quality of fingerprint images using spatial analysis methods. The author proposes using the previously developed mathematical model to describe the set of magnitudes of the image gradient. The model is based on the two-parameter Weibull distribution. The author proposes two approaches to assess the quality of fingerprints. The first approach is implemented by the so-called “Full reference method”, which compares the Weibull distribution parameters’ values of statistical estimates. The results of identifying sweat pores using this method are presented. The second approach is called the “No-Reference method” and is used to assess fingerprints’ quality when analyzing and identifying the information content of their individual sections. It is proposed to use an image blur map as a quality characteristic and a statistical estimate of the Weibull distribution shape parameter as a measure of the blur. The shape parameter is estimated at each image point by the combination of magnitudes of the image gradient in the vicinity of the point; in this, the previously developed blur mapping technique is applied. The specific examples illustrate effectiveness of the proposed approaches.

The purpose of the research is to analyze the general scientific category of a trace as the fundamental one to formulate the modern legal category of a forensically relevant trace. The article provides a brief review of the views of scientists who have studied the properties of the general scientific category of a trace. The general scientific category of a trace is presented as a characteristic describing and explaining a trace’s properties. The author emphasizes the necessity to distinguish real and existing traces-signs from traces-ideas. The so-called ideal traces are analyzed. The article provides the classification of such traces. The classification recognizes the traces of memory as the traces of memorization, traces of storage and traces of recollection, and mental traces. It is suggested to pay attention to electronic data traces, virtual data traces, and digital data traces.

The article addresses the concept of relevance concerning foreign criminal proceedings, in particular those applying forensic technologies. The author emphasizes that the variety of parties involved in the trial leads to the anticipated pluralism of relevance evaluation. For forensic experts, the relevance assessment is determined by data describing the cognitive object, perceived by the cognizing subject in different object’s reflections.

Foreign criminal systems take great interest in recognizing the importance of the concept of relevance. From examining the crime scene to a court ruling, the understanding of the argumentation process in assessing the relevance of the evidence is a part of the information control procedure that will be used to justify court decisions.

This section presents translated abstracts of selected papers that appeared in the following periodicals: Forensic Science International [www.elsevier.com/locate/forsciint], Digital Investigation [www.elsevier.com/locate/diin], Journal of Forensic Sciences [www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com], and Journal of the American Society of Questioned Documents Examiners [www.asqde.org].