Cooperation between Forensic Medicine and the Judiciary in Civil and Criminal Law

Details
Published: October 17, 2022
Jordan

IRZ organised two online seminars on cooperation between forensic medicine and the judiciary in Jordan and Germany on 26 and 27 September 2022. The events were held in cooperation with the Jordanian Judicial Council and the Judicial Institute of Jordan.

Mr Christian Schmitz-Justen, Vice President of the Higher Regional Court of Cologne, Mr Bernhard Theisen, Presiding Judge at the Higher Regional Court of Cologne, Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Michael Bohnert from the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Würzburg and Mr Andreas Stüve, Senior Public Prosecutor at the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor’s Office took part in the events on behalf of IRZ.

Topical Priorities of the Events

With its focus on civil law, the first event mainly addressed the principles governing expert witnesses and the juridical and practical issues involving the participation of medical experts in Germany and Jordan.

The second event concentrated on cooperation between the judiciary, forensic medicine and the investigating authorities in the area of criminal law.

The German and Jordanian speakers used their talks to address the following and other topics:

  • organisation and structures of forensic medicine in Germany and Jordan as well as formal procedures for forensic medicine training;
  • procedures and methods for determining medical malpractice and consequences under criminal law;
  • general issues of medical liability; and
  • judicial interpretation of expert opinions in the area of medicine.

Forensic Medicine in Jordan

It became clear that there are many similarities between the two countries, especially in medical liability law and with regard to the involvement of experts and their expert opinions. Differences also became apparent in the training and structure of forensic medicine, among others.  While forensic medicine is self-governing in Germany, it is attached to the Ministry of Health in Jordan. In addition, only 19 coroners are currently practising in Jordan. There are plans to increase this number significantly in the coming years.

Participants on the Jordanian side were judges at various courts, representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and members of the forensic medicine profession.

The online seminars were held with institutional funding from the Federal Ministry of Justice.