Recent Advancements in Forensic Expert Activity in the Context of Global Societal Digital Transformation

The rapid digitization of society has fundamentally altered the nature of criminal activity, the sources of evidentiary information, and the operational context of forensic experts. Contemporary traditional approaches to recording, investigating, and assessing data have become inadequate for managing digital traces, extensive datasets, and their recent variations and forms. This requires the identification of traditional trends in the development of forensic expert activity and the re-evaluation of its normative, organizational, and methodological foundations. The Article Purpose is a comprehensive analysis of trends in the development of forensic expert activity within the context of global digitalization, as well as an elucidation of the impact of contemporary digital technologies on the organizational, procedural, and methodological foundations of expert support to justice. The author employs the method of system analysis to identify general technological trends; a structural and functional method for assessing the impact of digitalization on the content and tasks of forensic expert activity. It has been proven that digital traces are being prioritized in expert research. Artificial intelligence, 3D technologies and simulation platforms significantly expand expert practice capabilities. A deficiency of methodological support is identified, attributable to the complexity of digital data and the emergence of their novel forms and variations. Essential changes in the training of specialized personnel are delineated, with particular emphasis on the implementation of automated testing and the advancement of digital competencies. The increasing significance of international cooperation within the context of the transnational character of digital challenges is underscored. Digitization constitutes a novel technological paradigm in forensic expert practice, necessitating the revision of methodologies, implementation of innovative technologies, enhancement of experts’ digital competencies, and standardization of procedures for handling digital evidence. The sustainable development of forensic expert practice is unattainable without international integration, modernization of education, and enhancement of scientific and methodological support.