Should informed consent be imposed in the forensic field?

Resumen

Introduction. Forensic practice must be subject to technical, scientific and ethical standards and principles to achieve its objective, which is to provide the Public Prosecutor's Office with the evidence that will help the latter determine a criminal act has been committed; forensic doctors of the Public Ministry agency must examine the physical, mental and health status of suspects, in order to obtain evidence linking the accused with the victim and crime scene; this goal may be hampered by the fact that, by government order, individuals may refuse a medical examination; one example is the informed consent, which is a procedure that is currently instituted in the clinical field, but in the forensic field allows the accused to refuse medical examination; this fact can prevent the forensic doctor from obtaining  evidence linking them to the crime scene and the victim and thus the authority can not integrate the Investigation File, preventing delivery of justice.

Objective. Determine if the informed consent procedure should be imposed in the forensic field.

Conclusion. Imposition of informed consent in forensic field is not acceptable, because it prevents the delivery of justice and favors impunity.

Keywords: Informed consent, Forensic Practice.