The Institute of Witnesses in Criminal Proceedings: Analysis of Certain Issues of Normative Regulation and Law Enforcement Practice

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of certain issues of the essence of the institution of witnesses in criminal proceedings. The main attention is paid to the issues of certain defects and gaps in the current Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine regarding the regulation of the participation of witnesses in criminal proceedings, in particular, regarding: 1) the possible identification of uninterested persons with witnesses; 2) the possibility of questioning witnesses as witnesses of procedural actions that are not investigative (search); 3) the possibility of questioning witnesses during pre-trial investigation.

Based on the analysis of the norms of the current Code of Criminal Procedure, which regulate the participation of witnesses, and domestic judicial practice regarding the use of evidence obtained with their participation, the author's opinion is expressed on a number of theoretically and practically significant issues and amendments to the current criminal procedural legislation are proposed in order to improve the law enforcement practice of involving and the evidentiary value of the participation of witnesses in criminal proceedings. Thus, in particular, the position is substantiated on the inexpediency of using the phrase "uninterested person" in the current Code of Criminal Procedure of Ukraine as a synonym for the concept of "witness" since the latter is a broader concept in its content; arguments are given in favor of the need to amend paragraph 4 of part 7 of article 223 of the Code of Criminal Procedure regarding the possibility of questioning as witnesses witnesses - participants not only in the relevant investigative (search) but also in other procedural actions, and not only during the trial, but also during the pre-trial investigation.