Інститут «amicus curiae» в праві держав романо-германської правової сім’ї

Abstract

Стаття присвячена дослідженню формування та розвитку інституту експерта з питань права, а також особливості його законодавчого регулювання та функціонування в праві держав романо-германської правової сім’ї, зокрема в таких державах, як Франція, Німеччина, Польща, Бразилія та Мексика. Встановлено, що нині amicus curiae – це суб’єкт, котрий не бере участі в судовому процесі в якості сторони, однак володіє виключними юридичними або професійними знаннями з важливої теми, яка має місце в конкретній справі, та пропонує увазі суду певну думку, позицію з того чи іншого питання, що сприяє обґрунтуванню судом своїх мотивів у прийнятті рішення в конкретній, як правило, складній правовій ситуації. The article is devoted to the study of the formation and development of the institute of expert in the law of the Romano-Germanic legal family states, in particular in France, Germany, Poland, Brazil, and Mexico. It has been established that the institute of expert’s in law participation in the trial has deep historical roots and is known in Roman law under the name «amicus curiae», which literally means «a friend of the court». Under amicus curiae it could be deemed a person with the relevant professional knowledge in law and professional experience, whose task was to provide the court with relevant information in order to facilitate the consideration and proper resolution of the case in accordance with the legislation in force at that time. The amicus curiae institute was adopted from Roman law and developed in the legislation of the states of the Romano-Germanic legal family. A characteristic feature of the development of the «friend of the court» institute in the states of this legal family is that implementation thereof was carried out gradually through its application in judicial practice without any statutory regulation by the legislator. Only recently, in Mexico (in 2011), and later in Brazil (in 2015), the amicus curiae institute has been officially enshrined in the codes of above states. Today, under amicus curiae can be considered a person who does not participate in the trial as a party, but has exclusive legal or professional knowledge on an important topic in a particular case, and suggests the court an opinion or position on this or that issue, that promotes justification by the court of its motives in making a judgement in a specific, as a rule, complex legal situation. Amicus curiae can be both natural persons or legal entities, such as lawyers-researches, lawyers-practitioners, non-governmental organizations (non-profit organizations), human rights organizations, scientific organizations, experts in any professional field, and others. Conclusion of amicus curiae, emphasizing the authority and independence of the court, which always makes the final decision to accept or reject the positions expressed; contains the amount of specialized information necessary for a balanced and fair court judgement.