Considerations before contracting a computer expertise service

We must bear in mind that in recent years, the number of computer expert works and opinions that are dismissed in litigation and are not taken into account when sentences are handed down has increased. The reason for this is none other than a huge increase in the number of computer experts who are not legally authorised to act before the courts, and who are therefore committing a crime of professional intrusion. We can find a clear example in the Judgment of the High Court of Justice of Madrid 531/2017, Sala de lo Social, Section 4ª, July 19^th ,2017, which states in the first point of the grounds of law, that:

“The judgment under appeal is essentially based on the ineffective and invalid expert evidence provided as the sole justification for the alleged facts…. And this is for several reasons explained by the Magistrate of First Instance in her ruling. The first is because she understands that the expert presented by the company lacks official qualifications in computer science…. On the other hand, the informal nature of the expert evidence and the questioning of the chain of custody are argued. Special mention is also made of the failure to comply with the guarantees of the plaintiff’s right to privacy when carrying out the inspection and the search of the computer equipment… In short, the Magistrate of Instance, assessing this evidence and the testimonies provided at the oral trial, concludes that the defects in the expert evidence provided by the company prevent the evidential value of this means of proof from being granted …”

The computer test must be certified in a computer expert opinion, prepared by a legally qualified computer expert. In our Frequently Asked Questions section you can find more information about it.