Quality management systems and the admissibility of scientific evidence: the Costa Rican experience

Certainty and truth are, by definition, objectives of science. There is a tendency among people to believe that anything produced by a scientist is science and is therefore certain. On the contrary, scientific findings are not free of error. In fact, science evolves, among other things, by questioning and verifying the ideas and theories that are held to be scientifically valid and by continuously searching for new knowledge. As judicial systems in several countries have evolved over time, they have established minimum criteria for the admissibility of scientific evidence in order to ensure accuracy as far as possible. Forensic laboratories in countries with such requirements have established quality systems as a tool for verifying the standards of the scientific information they provide to courts as evidence. The International Standard ISO/IEC 17025 has been chosen in testing laboratories, including forensic laboratories, to provide uniform technical criteria for developing a quality management system. There is agreement between the ISO standard and admissibility requirements for courts. Therefore, the application of international quality standards to forensic laboratories is of interest to, and must be understood by, not only scientists but also judicial authorities. The present article describes the Costa Rican experience.