Standards And Errors In Expert Opinions On Legal And Testamentary Capacity

In marked contrast to the state of expert opinions in criminal law, efforts to employ interdisciplinary measures to improve the quality of expert opinions in civil law have so far made little progress. This article presents a preliminary summary of the methodological standards that have been established in the field. These standards for the assessment of legal and testamentary incapacity are based on case law rulings by higher courts and on published forensic and psychiatric expert consensus opinons. The review aims at guiding and supporting experts with their tasks and helping the judiciary to assess the technical quality of expert opinions presented to them.