As evidence in various civil cases, witness testimony is often passed. They can be given by many citizens who have different information about the circumstances of a particular case. Witness testimonies in civil proceedings often serve as the basis for confirming or withdrawing a charge from a person.
Who are the witnesses?
They are citizens who are aware of certain circumstances of a particular civil case. They should be uninterested in the outcome of the case.
Any person can be a witness, and it is allowed that he and the accused be in different relations. They can be friends, relatives, members of the same family or just acquaintances. The trial judge must consider the existence of such a relationship.
There is no information in the law about the age at which witness testimony can be given in civil proceedings, so even minors are allowed to do so. For this, the judge first assesses the age, mental state and other characteristics of the child. Interrogation is required in advance, and in relation to a minor, this process should be carried out on the basis of Art. 179 Civil Code.
Some testimonies may not be accepted by the court, as they are considered improper.
How are witnesses brought to trial?
Testimony in a civil proceeding may be obtained as a result of interrogation. The features of this process include:
- a certain party to the trial requests a witness, as well as ensures his appearance at the hearing;
- each witness must have a passport with him for admission to the trial, which will allow him to establish his identity;
- a person insisting on the interrogation of a particular citizen must file a petition with the judge;
- this document spells out the name of the citizen, his place of residence and other data that are important for a particular case;
- it is indicated exactly what information can be provided by the citizen, if it is important for the proceedings;
- as soon as this request is granted, a witness is invited to the courtroom;
- before direct interrogation, the judge identifies the citizen, and also tells him what rights and obligations he has;
- the citizen is notified of responsibility if he gives deliberately false testimony in the civil process;
- he signs in a document stating that he has received the necessary explanations, after which this paper is attached to the case;
- only after all necessary actions have been completed does interrogation begin.
Any testimony in a civil proceeding is important. Features of the submission of documents with information from witnesses to the court are prescribed in the Civil Code.
How is court interrogation conducted?
The value of witness testimony in the civil process is undeniable. After inviting a citizen to the court and explaining to him all the necessary information, direct interrogation begins. To do this, the following rules are taken into account:
- Initially, the interrogation is conducted by the person who made the application to invite the citizen;
- further, other persons who participate in the case under consideration may ask questions;
- at any time, the judge may ask clarifying questions;
- it is impossible to predict the course and outcome of the interrogation, since it is not uncommon for judges to take this process into their own hands, which allows them to get the maximum information about the case in question.
After giving testimony, a citizen can stay in the courtroom, and also, if there is permission from the judge, to leave this room. Assessment of testimony in a civil proceeding is carried out directly by a judge, therefore, it determines their reliability and significance.
Duties of Witnesses
The concept of testimony in a civil proceeding assumes that this citizen certainly has both rights and obligations. He must comply with the requirements:
- the declared witness must come to court;
- he must give extremely truthful and necessary evidence;
- he is obliged to answer questions that a judge, lawyer or other persons who are involved in the process and have the appropriate authority asks him;
- each person is criminally liable for various illegal acts, which include the refusal of testimony or the provision of information to the court that is knowingly false.
In judicial practice, witnesses who provided false information were rarely prosecuted.
Types of indications
There are different types of testimony in civil proceedings, as they can be provided orally or in writing.
The court may decide that the interrogation will be carried out at the place of stay of the citizen. In this case, written testimonies are used in civil proceedings. This option is relevant if a person has a serious illness, is disabled or has other good reasons for which he is not able to independently attend a court session. Moreover, all the reasons must be proved with the help of official documents.
Witness rights
Witness testimonies as evidence in civil proceedings are used quite often, and at the same time, every person who is involved in the meeting should be aware of their rights. These include the following features:
- he may not testify against himself, his spouse, children or parents, brothers, sisters and other relatives;
- if the witness is a citizen working in the civil service, then he may not provide information that was received by him in the process of fulfilling work duties;
- he may demand reimbursement of expenses that appear to him at the moment when he is summoned to a court session, so the loss of time can be compensated, but all these expenses must be documented.
Every person who plans to participate in the civil process should have a good understanding of what exactly he will do in court. Usually witnesses are called by lawyers or prosecutors. It is on the basis of evidence that you can change the course of a particular trial. At the same time, the important point is that a citizen must provide exclusively reliable data, since significant false information can lead to a significant change in the course of business.
How are testimonies given?
Art. 69 of the Civil Code contains information on when written testimony can be given in civil proceedings. A sample of this document can be found below.
You can use such evidence in different situations in which a witness cannot personally attend a court session. This may be due to his state of health, as he may be disabled or he may have a serious illness that does not allow him to come to the meeting on his own.
Lawyers often use written testimony in civil proceedings.A sample of this document may not be used, since it is allowed to draw up documentation in free form, but there are certain requirements for the content. We list the main ones:
- the document must be notarized;
- It is indicated who takes the testimony;
- at the beginning of the document, the basic obligations and rights of the witness are prescribed, which they should first study;
- the following are the circumstances of a particular case, and the information must be painted in detail, with dates and times;
- at the end are the data of the witness himself;
- Signed citizen.
There is a possibility that such evidence will be rejected by the court, since one side of the trial is placed in an unequal position, since there is no way to ask the necessary questions to the witness.
What is witness immunity?
He is represented by the right of a citizen, allowing him to refuse to testify on a specific trial.
The following citizens are not involved as witnesses:
- representatives or advocates in a particular case;
- judges or jurors;
- workers of various religious organizations, if they received information as a result of confession.
Such immunity is heterogeneous, and it can also be absolute or relative, full or partial, as well as related or official.
Types of witness immunity subject to privilege
There is immunity related or official. In the first case, citizens may not testify against their relatives or themselves.
Relatives can use immunity voluntarily, therefore, if necessary, they can refuse it and give evidence.
Official immunity implies that information received by a citizen as a result of the performance of his official duties may not be disclosed to him. Therefore, deputies or persons authorized by human rights in the Russian Federation can take advantage of such immunity.
What do witnesses say?
Initially, a certain participant in the meeting decides whether to call a witness. A petition is submitted to the court for his invitation.
If he cannot take advantage of immunity, then under Art. 69 GIC he must fulfill certain obligations. The following information is indicated during a witness statement:
- indicate what circumstances they can be confirmed if they are relevant to a particular case;
- The main information about the witness is reported, to which his name, place of residence and passport data belong;
- details are described in detail of all data related to the case under consideration.
Based on the information received, an assessment of witness testimony in a civil proceeding is carried out. If it is revealed that they are unreliable, then a citizen may be prosecuted.
Witness Responsibility
If the witness refuses or evades testifying, then under Art. 308 of the Criminal Code, he is criminally liable. It can be represented by the following sanctions:
- a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles. or taking into account the income of a citizen for three months;
- compulsory work, the period of which varies from 120 to 180 hours;
- correctional labor for up to a year;
- arrest for up to three months.
If at all as a result of the trial, circumstances are revealed that prove that the witness gave knowingly false information, then he will be held accountable under Art. 307 of the Criminal Code. A fine may be imposed, the amount of which reaches even 80 thousand rubles. Additionally, a fine can be calculated on the basis of the witness’s income, for which cash receipts for three months are taken into account. Such punishment can be replaced by compulsory labor for up to 240 hours or correctional labor up to two years.
A witness may be arrested for up to three months for giving false testimonies.Therefore, before providing information that is truly false, you should carefully think about the consequences of such a decision.
In judicial practice, situations were rarely encountered when witnesses really were held accountable if it was revealed that they had hidden some important data or provided incorrect information.
Conclusion
Thus, witness testimonies are often used in various civil proceedings. They can have a significant impact on the progress of any business. They can be oral or written, and in the second case there must be good reason for using documents instead of the presence of a citizen at the meeting.
Each witness has both numerous rights and obligations. It is important to understand the responsibility to which witnesses can be brought to face when any significant violations are discovered, since it can be represented not only by fines or forced labor, but even by prolonged arrest.