Independent Professional Expertise in the Form of Conformity Assessment as a Tool for Substantiating Lawful Decisions

The Expert Opinion resulting from independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, as a legal document, contains the results of expert scientific research conducted using specialized scientific and juridical knowledge and/or special scientific knowledge. It presents an assessment of the conformity of the circumstances reported by the Customer and examined within the scope of the object, subject matter, and purpose of the research, as specified in the Customer's order, with the established assessment criteria.

The Expert Opinion may only be reproduced in its entirety.

The Expert Opinion resulting from independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment is prepared at the private request of the Customer. It is individual in nature and is prepared exclusively in relation to the object, subject matter, and purpose of the expert research specified in the Customer's order, based on the factual circumstances examined and the input data provided for conducting the expertise.

The Expert Opinion cannot be considered as confirming the conformity of other objects, circumstances, or legal relationships that were not the subject of the relevant expert research.

The Expert Opinion, as the result of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, relates exclusively to the object, subject matter, and purpose of the research specified in the Customer's order.

The results of the Expert Opinion must not be used to confirm the conformity of the circumstances examined with the established assessment criteria:

• After the purpose for which the Expert Opinion was obtained has been achieved, taking into account the final findings presented therein.
• After the expiration of 12 (twelve) months from the date of issuance of the Expert Opinion.
• In the event of changes in the circumstances that were the subject of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, where such changes may affect the relevance or reliability of the final findings presented in the Expert Opinion.
• In relation to other objects, subject matters, or purposes of research, as well as circumstances that were not examined as part of the relevant independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment.

The Expert Opinion resulting from independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment is the product of the intellectual activity of professional experts. It is unique and individual in nature with respect to the circumstances examined and contains scientifically substantiated findings concerning their significance and legal consequences.

The Expert Opinion is a copyright-protected work created on commission in accordance with Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights.” It contains the results of expert scientific research into the circumstances surrounding the emergence and development of legal relationships and their legal consequences, as reported by the Customer and examined pursuant to the Customer's order using specialized scientific and juridical knowledge and/or special scientific knowledge.

Taking into account the specific characteristics of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment conducted by IPE LLC as an accredited inspection body, and in accordance with Part Two of Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights,” a special contractual regime for the allocation of intellectual property rights is established for the Expert Opinion. This regime is governed by the terms of the service agreements concluded between the Customer and IPE LLC, as well as between the professional experts and IPE LLC.

Economic rights provided for in Article 440 of the Civil Code of Ukraine (the right to use, the exclusive right to authorize use, the right to prevent unlawful use, including the right to prohibit such use, and other rights), in accordance with Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights,” are subject to a special allocation regime between the Customer and IPE LLC (the Expertise Organizer, which has the status of an accredited inspection body), as determined by the terms of the service agreement concluded between them.

The Customer holds the following economic rights:

• The right to use the result of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment to achieve the purpose for which the expertise was conducted at the Customer's request, in accordance with the terms of the service agreement concluded between the Customer and IPE LLC (the Expertise Organizer).
• The right to submit the result of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment to third parties and to authorize its use within the scope of the purpose for which the expertise was conducted.
• The right to prevent unlawful use of the Customer's economic rights, including the right to prohibit such use.

In exercising economic rights to the result of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, the Customer is not entitled to:

• Alter the form or text of the Expert Opinion. Corrections to the text of the Expert Opinion may be made exclusively by IPE LLC in accordance with the established procedure, while ensuring that the original version remains identifiable.
• Present the result of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment as another document.
• Authorize other persons to use the result of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment received by the Customer from IPE LLC in an unrestricted manner.
• Use the result of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment beyond the established scope of the object, subject matter, and purpose of the research conducted.

IPE LLC, as the Organizer of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, holds the following economic rights:

• The right to prevent unlawful use of the result of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment as a result of the activities of an accredited inspection body.
• The right to take measures to terminate unlawful use of the result of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment in order to ensure its integrity and reliability and to fulfill the obligations of an accredited inspection body.

IPE LLC, as the Organizer of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, bears legal liability to the Customer for the proper fulfillment of its professional obligations relating to the organization and conduct of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, in accordance with the terms of the service agreement concluded between IPE LLC and the Customer.

To protect the property interests of third parties against potential damage caused by the results of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, IPE LLC enters into a voluntary professional liability insurance agreement and commences the organization and conduct of such expertise only if the relevant insurance agreement is in force.

In the event that the Expert Opinion or any of its individual provisions is used in relation to circumstances, legal relationships, objects, or subject matters of research that were not examined as part of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, or after the expiration of 12 (twelve) months from the date of its issuance, IPE LLC, the professional experts involved, and other persons who participated in conducting the expertise shall not be liable for the consequences of such use.

Any decisions, actions, or omissions made or undertaken on the basis of the Expert Opinion resulting from independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, beyond the scope of the circumstances examined or after the expiration of 12 (twelve) months from the date of its issuance, shall be made or undertaken solely at the risk of the person using the Expert Opinion issued by IPE LLC.

If unlawful use of the Expert Opinion resulting from independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment is established, IPE LLC reserves the right, for the purpose of fulfilling its obligations arising from the Accreditation Agreement concluded with the National Accreditation Agency of Ukraine, to notify the Customer, the recipient of the expertise, and other interested authorities, enterprises, institutions, organizations, or persons to whom the Expert Opinion issued by IPE LLC has been submitted or by whom it is being used.

The Expert Opinion resulting from independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment corresponds, in terms of its content, to the characteristics of a scientific opinion because:

• Its substantiations are objective in nature and are developed through the application of scientific research methods.
• The conclusions formulated therein logically follow from the results of the expert research conducted.
• Such conclusions are based on the results of scientific research rather than on the personal opinions or assumptions of the professional experts.

Submission of a scientific conclusion to a court as evidence of the objective substantiation of the claims is considered a reasoned written explanation of a party (Resolution of the Joint Chamber of the Commercial Cassation Court of the Supreme Court dated 3 November 2023 in Case No. 918/686/21).

The Expert Opinion is prepared by professional experts of IPE LLC, an independent entity engaged in expert activities, which operates within its own system for organizing and conducting independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment. The conformity of this system with the established requirements of international standards is confirmed by the accreditation and certification of IPE LLC by authorized bodies within their respective scopes.

The Expert Opinion is produced under controlled conditions at IPE LLC in accordance with the requirements of:

• DSTU EN ISO/IEC 17020:2019 (EN ISO/IEC 17020:2012, IDT; ISO/IEC 17020:2012, IDT) – the management system of the inspection body;
• ISO 9001:2015, IDT (DSTU ISO 9001:2015) – the quality management system;
• ISO 37001:2016, IDT (DSTU ISO 37001:2018) – the anti-corruption management system;
• DSTU ISO/IEC 27001:2023 (ISO/IEC 27001:2022, IDT) – the information security management system;

as well as in accordance with the technical specifications of IPE LLC, which have been reviewed and registered by the State Enterprise “Kyivoblstandartmetrolohiya”.

The independence and impartiality of expert research ensure that the Expert Opinion is formulated on the basis of the materials and information examined, established assessment criteria, and the professional judgment of professional experts, independently of the Customer’s expectations or preliminary assessments.

The temporal relevance of expert research results is based on the forward-looking legal nature of the outcome of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, which is intended to achieve a defined purpose in future legal relationships. It characterizes the period during which the results of expert research remain relevant, provided that the object and subject matter of the research, as well as the material circumstances underlying the respective Expert Opinions, remain unchanged.

The results of expert research may be used to confirm the circumstances examined only during the period in which they objectively reflect the factual and legal status of the object of research.

The expiration of this period does not automatically deprive the Expert Opinion resulting from independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment of its legal significance as a document. However, it limits the possibility of using its results to confirm circumstances whose current relevance requires assessment at a different point in time.

The need to conduct new expert research is determined not merely by the expiration of the period of temporal relevance of the previous research results, but by the need to establish and confirm the current relevance of the respective circumstances at the time of their renewed expert assessment.

Personal non-property rights provided for in Articles 423 and 438 of the Civil Code of Ukraine (the right to recognition of authorship, the right to prevent any infringement of intellectual property rights that may harm the honor or reputation of the author, and other rights), in accordance with Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine “On Copyright and Related Rights”:

• to the form of the IPE(CA) Expert Opinion, developed to standardize the presentation of the results of IPE(CA) by professional experts of IPE LLC, belong to IPE LLC;
• to the substantiations, research conducted, and logical conclusions formulated on the basis of its results, as presented in the IPE(CA) Expert Opinion, belong jointly, under the right of co-authorship, to the professional experts through whose creative work they were produced.

The rights to the form of the IPE(CA) Expert Opinion and the rights to the results of expert research presented therein constitute independent objects of intellectual property rights

The Customer of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment is responsible for the authenticity and accuracy of the documents submitted for examination, as well as the information provided by the Customer for conducting the expertise.

The professional expert conducting independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment bears legal liability for the untimely, inadequate, or unlawful conduct of expert research, as well as for failure to fulfill the terms of the service agreement concluded between the professional expert and IPE LLC.

When formulating conclusions based on the results of independent professional expertise in the form of conformity assessment, the professional expert proceeds on the following assumptions:

• The circumstances confirmed by the relevant legal documents, upon which the results of the expert research are based, are reliable.
• The Expert Opinion must be logical, well-substantiated, and correct.