On the opinions voiced in the webinar about the Support Act, we believe it helps to have criteria so as not to get tangled in aspects that undermine our capacity for healthy criticism. That is why we advise starting from the naming of the instruments the laws cite: Social Report and Forensic Report.
- Social Report: an oral or written account of the state of a thing or a person, or of the circumstances surrounding a fact.
- Report: a technical, expert opinion given on a fact or thing.
CITATIONS IN THE LEGISLATION
In the Civil Procedure Act, the whole of Section 5 is cited under the name "Expert report". In Act 8/2021, on support for persons with disabilities in the exercise of their legal capacity, articles 42 bis a) point 1 (procedure) and 42 bis c) point 3 (review of measures) likewise use the name "Forensic Report". In this voluntary-jurisdiction law, the Report is mandatory at first and second instance, unless the matter turns into adversarial proceedings.
EXPERT AND WITNESS-EXPERT: NOT THE SAME
Depending on the instrument we issue, the Law will regard us in one way or another: if we issue a Social Report, we have the status of witness-expert; if we issue a Forensic Report, that of expert. The difference has procedural consequences:
| Expert | Witness-expert |
|---|---|
| Draws up and issues a Forensic Report, with evidentiary activity. | Draws up and issues a Social Report, without evidentiary activity. |
| May not have prior knowledge of the facts on which they report. | Must know or have witnessed the facts and contribute disciplinary knowledge. |
| Can be replaced. Paid activity. | Cannot be replaced. Not independently remunerated activity. |
| Value of expert evidence (art. 348 of the Civil Procedure Act). | Value of witness evidence (art. 376 of the Civil Procedure Act). |
CALLING THINGS BY THEIR NAME
Information and knowledge give us confidence in our professional acts. Let us make an exercise of ethical courage to synchronise efforts and have our positions recognised, both in the corporate field of social work and in the institutional one. Let us begin by calling things by their name; may this first step be an impulse to keep moving forward. More in Social report and Forensic social report.