MOSCOW, March 22 - RAPSI. The fee for conducting expert appraisals in a criminal case are not included in the legal costs and for this reason should not be compensated for at the convict's expense, the Supreme Court stated.

The supervisory practice review prepared by the court's criminal board shows that although the Criminal Procedure Code has the relevant provision, the Arkhangelsk Regional Court ignored it and collected from two convicts 7,500 rubles ($257) for the state budget in 2006 to cover the cost of expert appraisals.

Under the federal law effective since 2001, expert appraisal departments of federal agencies, including the Interior Ministry, are financed from the federal budget, while local authorities finance similar regional divisions.