Case Study

Forensic unit accreditation improves social governance level in China

The results of forensic identification concern the realization of judicial fairness and protection of citizens’ legitimate rights. In 2005, China issued the Decisions on Forensic Identification Management Problems. In the Decisions, Article 5 clearly stipulates that the forensic units engaged in forensic medicine, material evidence, and audio-visual material identification shall “have the testing laboratory with China Metrology Accreditation or laboratory accreditation by law for forensic identification within the scope of services”.

The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Security and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China have promulgated relevant administrative measures and put forward the same requirements for judicial expertise institutions. As a result, to obtain accreditation qualifications have become one of legal accesses for forensic units in China.

On the basis of ISO/IEC 17025 and ISO/IEC 17020, China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) established forensic unit accreditation scheme to improve their credibility. In 2003, CNAS issued the first forensic unit accreditation certificate.

By the end of 2020, CNAS has accredited 461 forensic units, covering areas of forensic medicine, material evidence, and audio-visual material identification and electronic evidence. The 10 national level forensic units have all been accredited in China.