In the article, the author defines the place which a new direction of forensic psychological examination – the study of information materials – occupies in the system of forensic science and the general classification of forensic examinations. Comparison of the object, subject, tasks, and methods of the traditional forensic psychological analysis conducted on living persons and post-mortem examinations, and forensic psychological examination of information materials allows to consider them as generic within the subclass “Forensic psychological examination” in the system of the class “Forensic medical and psychological examinations”. The author maps out the interdisciplinary connections of the psychological examination of information materials and its interaction with various branches of psychological science. It is shown that the systematization of the internal and external scientific relations of the new kind (type) of forensic analysis allows a more comprehensive description of the content of a forensic expert’s specialized knowledge obtained during both diploma and postgraduate training and expert practice.

The article addresses the influence of multidirectional processes of differentiation and integration of specialized linguistic knowledge on the development of forensic science and the practice of expert research, where it is used. The author highlights that both processes contribute to developing theoretical and methodological provisions that allow experts to solve new and complex problems at a higher quality level. The role of differentiation of specialized linguistic knowledge is to create new kinds and types of forensic examinations: author’s, linguistic, forensic analysis of video and sound recordings, forensic research of intellectual property objects. At the same time, the integration of specialized linguistic knowledge ensures the development of the whole scientific direction.

The article reviews the concept of the object of forensic science, which is essential for expert research and the identification of classes, genera, species, and subspecies of forensic examinations, as well as their classification.

The author presents the objects of environmental forensics as generic objects, gives their definition, analyzes their properties and features. It is also shown that the objects of environmental forensics are divided into the actual objects of research and samples for comparative research. Furthermore, the researcher indicates the possible instances of the intersection of studies of environmental forensics’ objects with other examinations. Finally, the author emphasizes the necessity of compliance by a forensic ecologist with the limits of his competence in such cases.

The state of methodological support for forensic examinations requires an improvement. For these purposes, the author proposes a validation procedure for scientific and methodological support of forensic examination, the main provisions of which are set out in the “Regulations on the validation (assessment of the suitability) of techniques in forensic activity”, developed in the Russian Federal Centre of Forensic Science of the Russian Ministry of Justice. Despite the undeniable importance of this document, the author notes several issues, resolution of which will contribute both to its effective practical implementation and organic integration of the main provisions of validation into forensic science. The article considers the main terminological inconsistencies of forensic expertology and regulatory legal documents regulating the validation procedure. Forensic expert techniques’ concept, structure, and functions are analyzed; the author also proposes the evaluation criteria.

The article addresses theoretical and normative frameworks and the practice of applying specialized knowledge in trials of cases on challenging the results of determining the cadastral value of real estate objects. The authors establish the elements of specialized knowledge necessary for forensic experts when conducting examinations of this category. It is noted that the change in the volume and structure of specialized knowledge is influenced by the tasks that are assigned to an expert. It is also the case when determining the market value of real estate objects when considering administrative cases on challenging the cadastral value. The specialized knowledge applied by experts in determining the market value of construction objects and land plots can be presented as a system that includes such structural elements of a knowledgeable person’s competence as expertise, competencies, and professional skills. Finally, the authors outline the problems leading, on the one hand, to the increased burden on the forensic expert and extension of the terms of examinations and, on the other hand, the financial burden on the person who appointed an examination.

The paper describes the directions of counteracting extremist materials dissemination in Russia and their results as seen in the Federal List of Extremist Materials of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, statistics of the State Information and Analytical Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia on the number of registered crimes and persons brought to criminal responsibility as well as the Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the state of criminal record and activities of the federal courts of general jurisdiction and justices of the peace.

The study aims to develop recommendations to optimize the judicial and investigative use of specialized knowledge to counteract the dissemination of extremist materials. The research tasks are: examining the shortcomings of preliminary investigation, analyzing the current judicial practice of administrative proceedings, and formulating proposals for the best use of specialized knowledge to identify the signs of hatred and enmity in the disseminated products. The study reveals the problems of the investigative practice related to the definition of the forensic examination subject for various categories of objects in terms of their material carriers. The author also notes cases of unjustified expansion of the subject of expert examination of extremist materials. Furthermore, the article identifies the shortcomings and positive experience in judicial practice on publicly available administrative cases on recognition materials as extremist and prosecution persons for inciting hatred or hostility or for posting on the Internet materials included in the Federal List of Extremist Materials. Finally, forensic recommendations on using specialized knowledge in the analysis of disseminated extremist materials are offered.

Currently, the legal framework for protecting natural resources from human assault is being developed at the international level. However, the statistical data on the sentencing of persons convicted on the territory of the Russian Federation under Articles 258 and 258.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in 2020 given in the article indicates: the crimes causing the reduction in the number of animal populations, and as a result, the loss of biodiversity, are challenging to prove; a small number of perpetrators are brought to criminal responsibility; punishment in the form of imprisonment is imposed only in isolated cases. However, using molecular genetic research methods for the biological material of wild animals, it is possible to fill in a significant part of the missing information or obtain new evidentiary information about the circumstances of crimes, including illegal hunting. The application of the DNA barcoding method, developed in the early 2000s, makes it possible to establish the taxonomic affiliation of living organisms when it is impossible to do this by classical methods, for example, if the organism is represented by a micro-number of biological tissues, and is also at the stages of the life cycle (egg, larva, embryo) with an insufficient number of morphological features. Thus, advanced DNA technologies allow us to obtain a considerable amount of previously inaccessible information.

The issue of the illegal wild animal trafficking sold as “raised in captivity” is relevant for the pet industry and zoos and has implications both for animal welfare and the preservation of the natural environment. Methods based on the DNA analysis can also be applied for solving problems related to establishing the source of origin of the animal, in some cases – its habitat. The article provides cases from expert practice of ANO “Amur Tiger” when using molecular genetic methods of wild animal analysis allowed solving investigative and judicial tasks.

The article discusses the main trends in the illegal trafficking of plants containing psychoactive substances of the hallucinogen class. The author reveals the features of hallucinogens and dissociative anesthetics. The article also provides statistical indicators of the consumption growth of new psychoactive substances, including those contained in plant objects. The main criteria by which plant objects fall under the constructive apparatus of illegal trafficking are identified. The author pays special attention to applying specialized knowledge to expert identification and diagnostics of plants withdrawn from illicit trafficking containing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or their precursors. To counteract the illegal trafficking of narcotic plants, the author proposes measures to improve the operational algorithms of experts’ actions when investigating herbal narcotic drugs. On the example of plants species Banisteriopsis caapi, the author demonstrates the lack of the study of taxonomic units of tropical plants containing hallucinogens. To solve this problem, the author proposes to change the level of definition of taxonomic affiliation from species to generic in the List of Plants containing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or their precursors.

The rapid development of computer technologies poses new challenges to experts and requires solving new tasks. The article addresses the issue of determining the cost of objects when conducting forensic computer examinations. The author considers some approaches to determining the market value of the most popular objects (computer tools, an organization’s website) at a specific time, particularly at the time of the crime. The author justifies the notion that the resolution of such issues should be a part of a forensic expert’s specialized knowledge of information and computer technologies since this contributes to solving the tasks of this kind of examination and fulfilling the principles of forensic expertise.

The article presents the results of an expert assessment of the thinning out of forest stands on the territory of the N district of the Kirov region based on field studies. Fieldwork consisted of recalculating and measuring the diameters of stumps left after felling trees, establishing their species composition and quality condition to determine the volume of harvested wood in the context of species. The stumps found were identified as pine (70 %), spruce, birch, and aspen.

The authors reveal that the release forest cutting was carried out within the boundaries of the designated cutting area with an excess of the established volume of wood harvesting for the prime breed (pine). The volume of felled pinewood exceeded 2.5 times; for other species, these data is more than 70 % lower than declared. At the same time, the total actual volume of the withdrawn wood does not exceed the data of the forest declaration. Based on the revealed violation of the forest legislation and the relevant regulatory documents, the authors have calculated the amount of damage caused to the forest plantation due to illegal logging of pine wood in the volume of 297 m³. The damage amounted to more than 4 million rubles.

The article is dedicated to the biography and scientific creativity of an eminent scientist, Doctor of Law, professor Valeria Fedorovna Orlova (18.01.1926–18.03.2021), who devoted her life to forensic handwriting examination. The author addresses V.F. Orlova’s main theoretical works and methodologies, and textbooks created under her supervision. The article introduces the main tasks and capacities of forensic handwriting examination in our country.

The 19^th-century Italian art critic Giovanni Morelli contributed significantly to the theory and practice of attribution of paintings by prominent Renaissance masters. His methods, based on the profound knowledge of human anatomy and the analysis of artists’ professional skills, influenced not only the history of visual arts but also the development of forensic science, forensic medicine, the theory of psychoanalysis, and the practice of psychotherapy. The article provides the analysis of Giovanni Morelli’s scientific heritage for the identification and attribution of the works of fine art and for solving forensic tasks requiring the investigation of human skills and habits.

Morelli’s methods and the capabilities of a comprehensive forensic study of artistic and cultural values with the involvement of the appropriate instrumental base and specialized knowledge in the field of art history, forensic traceology, and materials science, as well as digital technologies, can significantly increase the reliability of the results of attribution activities of museums, art scientists, experts of world auction houses and amateur collectors.

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