Frequently asked questions

An Ad Hoc expert is a scientific expert who prepares reports for the court very rarely and whose area of expertise is not forensic orientated.

Throughout the years, the NRGD has developed an assessment system that is ideal when it comes to common and clearly delineated areas of expertise. These areas of expertise are covered by its register, ensuring that experts in these areas meet quality requirements before they can be included. However, this system is less ideal in the case of rare, highly specialist areas of expertise. Most Ad Hoc experts fall outside the immediate scope of the NRGD, as their area of expertise is too specialistic and/or there are too few experts in that area, so that it cannot be clearly delineated for the purpose of NRGD coverage.

The Ad Hoc Expertise Project was set up by order of the Ministry of Justice and Security to find a way to safeguard the quality of court reports prepared by non-forensic experts. The NRGD is carrying out this project in consultation with the Public Prosecution Service, the Judiciary, the National Expertise Broker (National Police), forensic institutes, academic institutions and the Training and Study Centre for the Judiciary (Studiecentrum Rechtspleging, SSR). The aim of the Project is to find a solution to the problem of safeguarding the quality and findability of both experts who represent small areas of expertise and extremely specialist experts.

• Overview of organisations of experts
• Appointment Questionnaire (contact us to receive the Appointment Questionnaire)
• Criminal law e-learning module
• Forensic Report Guideline
• Report Feedback

When developing these tools, our main focus was on their use in criminal law cases. You are free to use these tools in other fields of law, but some components may only be partially relevant or not at all.

No. The use of these tools is without obligation for both commissioning parties and experts. However, experts remain ultimately responsible at all times for their report, and commissioning parties must be able to motivate why they consider a particular expert qualified. As the tools contribute to the quality of the use of experts in any event, their use is highly recommended.

The tools have been developed for both Ad Hoc experts and their commissioning parties. Commissioning parties may be, for example, examining judges and justices, public prosecutors and lawyers.

You have received an investigative question from the commissioning party, possibly accompanied by an Appointment Questionnaire. Try to complete the Appointment Questionnaire. Based on this questionnaire, the commissioning party will be able to make an informed decision on whether you are the most suitable expert to research/answer the investigative question. Return the completed questionnaire to the commissioning party, along with your CV. Both the Appointment Questionnaire and the CV contain personal data. The commissioning party’s privacy statement applies to the processing of these personal data.

Contact us to receive the Appointment Questionnaire

You do not need to complete both the questionnaires. Return your LDM assessment model to the commissioning party, together with your answers to the specific questions about the investigative question. How long will it take to complete the criminal law e-learning module?

Completing the module will take around 30 minutes, but you can work at your own pace. You can also stop in the middle and pick it back up again some other time. Your progress will be saved for at least a day. Why does it state ‘SSR’ on the e-learning module?

The e-learning module was produced by the SSR as part of its range of e-learning programmes.

Ask the commissioning party to forward an investigative question to you.

No, but you should try to answer as many questions as possible to give the commissioning party the most comprehensive possible overview of your expertise. If you are unable to answer a question, you should explain why.

With this accessible e-learning module, experts can quickly familiarise themselves with the role and task of a reporting expert in criminal law cases, the relevant criminal legislation and the NRGD Code of Conduct. The various chapters deal with all procedural aspects of criminal law cases. Among other things, they explain what is expected of you if you are called to give a statement at a hearing.

No. Many of the topics in the e-learning module correspond to the topics in internal training courses for experts and the recognised specialist programmes run by Leiden University and the consortium of the Open University and Maastricht University. However, because of the nature of the use of Ad Hoc experts, the module delves less deeply into the material, so that you will not yet have acquired sufficient knowledge on this field of law nor sufficiently familiarised yourself with the role of the expert in it for registration or re-registration in the NRGD (in accordance with Section 12(2), under b of the Register of Court Experts in Criminal Cases Decree).

If you have never written a report for the court before, you may not know which information it should contain. This Forensic Report Guideline will help you prepare your report. The Forensic Report Guideline consists of a checklist for the information that the report must contain in any case and a generic chapter division.

Download the Forensic Report Guideline

Using the template is not compulsory, but you should stick to the template as closely as possible. Alternatively, you can use it as a checklist to verify that you did not forget to mention anything in your report.

Feedback Givers are usually experienced NRGD assessors, including both legal and academic professionals. When assigning a Feedback Giver, we take care not to put you in contact with someone who is already involved in the case in a professional capacity.

It is common in the field of forensics to have a report reviewed/read as a check by a fellow scientific expert. If that is not possible, please inform your commissioning party. You may use the opportunity to ask an experienced independent Feedback Giver to review your report for clarity, logical consistency and the substantiation of your conclusions. A secondary aim is to avoid the use of any unnecessary professional jargon or legal pitfalls. The Feedback Giver will give you advice that you can use to improve your report. You can request Feedback by sending an email to deskundigenregister@nrgd.nl. In your Ad Hoc Feedback request, state your name, email address, telephone number and the case number of the Public Prosecutor.

More information on report feedback

You can request Feedback if no collegial review is available for your area of expertise. Send an email to deskundigenregister@nrgd.nl, mentioning ‘Ad Hoc Feedback’ and the following details:

• Name and contact details (email address and telephone number).
  We will use these details to share and put you in contact with the Feedback Giver and to contact you afterwards, so that you can share your experience of the Feedback with us.
• The case number of the Public Prosecutor.
  This will allow us to link you to a Feedback Giver and prevent us from putting you in contact with someone who is already involved in the case in a professional capacity.

Please note: with a view to confidentiality, we ask explicitly that you do not share any substantial information regarding your case, such as your report or other court documents, with the NRGD.

Yes, but the same conditions apply, i.e. you must provide the case number of the Public Prosecutor in which you have been asked to act as an expert I have had my research and report reviewed by a colleague, but he or she is not a forensic expert either. Should I still request Feedback on my report in this case?

Feedback on your report is not compulsory. You may use this opportunity regardless of whether your report was reviewed by a colleague.

No. The NRGD does not verify reports in individual cases. It only does so in the context of an application for registration for the purpose of establishing the expert’s competences. The NRGD Feedback Giver is an independent person who suggests points for improvement to the expert. The expert is free to decide whether to incorporate the Feedback. The NRGD is never able to verify a report on this basis. The Feedback is not a mark of quality but at most a way to enhance the quality of the report for the court.

You only need to send those documents to the Feedback Giver that you will eventually supply to the commissioning party. In practice, this will only be the report and any appendices.

No. The Feedback to your expert report comes at no cost to you.

The role of the NRGD is merely to put the Feedback Giver into contact with the expert. To this end, we only need some of your personal data:

• Name and contact details (email address and telephone number).
  We will use these details to share with the Feedback Giver and to contact you afterwards, so that you can share your experience of the Feedback with us.
• The case number of the Public Prosecutor.
  This will allow us to link you to a Feedback Giver and prevent us from putting you in contact with someone who is already involved in the case in a professional capacity.

As the NRGD plays no substantial role in giving Feedback on your report, we are keen to avoid receiving substantial information regarding your case, such as the report or other court documents. Please consult our Privacy Statement for more information.

A specific question has arisen during your case, and now you are looking for a suitable expert to answer it. The overview of organisations of experts can help you find the right expert. This overview lists the various (non-profit) organisations that maintain a list of experts. You will also find a brief explanation of the working methods of these organisations and their contact details.

Go to the overview of organisations of experts

The mere fact that an organisation of experts is listed is not a judgement on quality. The overview is purely intended as a repository for potential specialist experts. The expert remains responsible for their report (and its quality) at all times.

or an investigative question that requires specific scientific expertise, it may be difficult to assess whether an expert has the right experience, knowledge and/or background to help answer your investigative question. The Appointment Questionnaire offers commissioning parties a useful tool that they can use to find a suitable Ad Hoc expert and assess their expertise.

As the commissioning party, you need to submit the investigative question that needs to be answered. You can end the investigation question and the questionnaire to the expert, who will complete the latter. You will then receive the completed Appointment Questionnaire from the expert, along with their CV. Based on this information, you may decide to appoint the expert to conduct specific research and/or answer your investigative question.

Contact us to receive the Appointment Questionnaire

It is common in the field of forensics to have a report reviewed/read as a check by a fellow scientific expert. If that is not possible, the expert is asked to inform the commissioning party and may request Feedback from an experienced NRGD assessor. This feedback does not pertain to the scientific content of the report but concerns broad advice on clarity, logical consistency and the substantiation of conclusions. A secondary aim is to avoid the use of any unnecessary professional jargon or legal pitfalls. The expert may use this advice to improve their report before submitting it to the commissioning party. Please feel free to inform the expert about the possibility to ask for feedback from the NRGD for the benefit of the quality of the report.

More information on report Feedback

Yes. The Forensic Report Guideline contains a template that guides the Ad Hoc expert through every step of the reporting procedure, highlighting those elements that a good-quality forensic report must include in any case.

Download the Forensic Report Guideline