Official veterinary experts in civil legal disputes

Veterinary opinions on animals sold include pre-purchase vetting and investigation to find latent defects. Preparation of a veterinary expert opinion can be ordered by a dissatisfied animal buyer or a court holding a civil trial, if doubts arise. In some jurisdictions, however, official and mandatory opinions of veterinary experts in animal warranty cases are stipulated by the law. The legal norms of selected European states are examined for which methods of legal analysis and interpretation are used: they are linguistic, teleological, functional, systemic, legal historical, and comparative. A specific type of veterinary expert opinion is distinguished, which integrates elements of administrative or judicial (court procedural) law (public law) and civil law (private law). The official and mandatory character of the expertise incorporation procedure is established. The roles of the expert veterinarian and the responsibilities of the animal buyer are demonstrated. The introduction of analogous legal standards in other jurisdictions is recommended.