On September 26, as part of the IX Kharkiv International Legal Forum, a panel discussion was held on “Current experience in the use of polygraphs in the field of national security and defense of Ukraine in conditions of military threats” (Kharkiv).
The All-Ukrainian Association of Polygraph Examiners had the honor of co-organizing this important scientific and practical event together with the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University and its Department of Criminalistics, the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, and the Research Institute for the Study of Crime Problems named after Academician V.V. Stashys of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine.
In the photo: on the left side of the presidium, Volodymyr Zhuravel, President of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Law, Professor, Academician; Anatoliy Getman, Rector of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, Doctor of Law, Professor, Academician; Viktor Shevchuk, Head of the Department of Criminalistics at the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, Doctor of Law, Professor, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine; Tetiana Morozova, President of the VAP (UAPE), Doctor of Psychology
In addition to the presidium, Jan Widacki, professor at the Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University (Poland), Head of the Department of Criminalistics, Criminology and Police Sciences, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Arts, world-renowned criminalist and polygraph expert.
In the photo: moderator of the panel discussion, Doctor of Law, Professor Viktor Shevchuk reads the greeting from Professor Jan Widacki
We would like to tell you more about Mr. Viktor Shevchuk, whose contribution to the development of Ukrainian polygraphology cannot be overestimated: member of the VAP (UAPE), polygraphologist since 2017, Doctor of Law, Professor, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine, Head of the Department of Criminalistics at the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, chief research fellow at the V.V. Stashys Research Institute for the Study of Crime Problems of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, head of the authoring team, co-author and editor of the well-known contemporary textbook “Criminalistics.” It is in this textbook, published in 2024 in the hero city of Kharkiv, that significant attention is paid for the first time to polygraphology and forensic psychological examinations using a computer polygraph.
In the center of the photo is the event moderator, Professor Viktor Shevchuk.
Ksenia Babych, a member of the VAP (UAPE) and head of the department for psychological and polygraphological examination of employees of the prosecutor’s office of the General Inspectorate of the Office of the Prosecutor General, gave an interesting presentation during the panel discussion.
The practical examples cited by Ms. Ksenia Babich showed the lawyers present that polygraph testing is a thorough process involving a number of stages and must comply with clear existing methodological requirements.
VAP (UAPE) President Tetiana Morozova delivered a report entitled “On the Standard for the Profession of Polygraph Examiner,” in which she outlined the stages of formation and development of the profession in Ukraine, outlined the challenges that we, polygraph examiners, currently face, and our prospects, which largely depend on what we now lay down in our professional standard.
A similar report was presented by Alexander Morozov, a lecturer at the polygraph courses of the Tatyana Morozova Center for Expert Polygraph Research, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Ukraine, Honorary Academician of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine: “The issue of professional ethics in polygraphology.” And this is not about the fact that there are special requirements for the ethics of polygraph examiners—people who are called upon to establish the truth and whose conclusions often determine the reputation of others. It is about the fact that in our profession there simply should be no immoral individuals who are ready to “sell” their conclusions, write libels and denunciations of colleagues, and put money before conscience, honor, and human dignity.
In his report, Professor Viktor Shevchuk very clearly highlighted the role of forensic polygraphology in criminal proceedings and in Ukraine’s security and defense system.
I would like to note separately how competently and professionally Mr. Victor guided the discussions that arose during the presentation of the reports and summarized them.
In general, participation in the legal forum showed how much explanatory work we, polygraph examiners, still have ahead of us. After all, what seems clear and obvious to us, as it turns out, is actually clear and obvious only to us. For example, professional lawyers, scholars, and practitioners feel almost physical discomfort from a single slide titled “lie detected-lie not detected.” Similarly, the words “valid,” “internationally recognized,” and ‘evidential’ are not arguments for them—they immediately want to find out what lies behind them. For example, the word “evidential” has a completely different semantic meaning for them. At the same time, the argument that something is used in a certain way in another country is not enough to convince them—they immediately begin to apply that practice to Ukrainian legislation.
Therefore, today’s panel discussion became a platform for open discussion of complex issues, the development of practical recommendations, and the initiation of new forms of cooperation. We are convinced that the proposals and new ideas that will be formed at this event will make a significant contribution to the development of domestic polygraphology. Scientific developments and practical recommendations will be useful to law enforcement agencies, pre-trial investigation bodies, expert departments, and judges in solving tasks related to ensuring justice in our country, as well as for increasing the role and importance of the use of polygraphs in the field of national security and defense of Ukraine in the current conditions of military threats.
